f  — 

1042 
W& 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


Education 

GIFT  OF 


Professor 
George  C.  Kyte 


6799 
6790 


STORIES 


KINDERGARTENS   AND   PRIMARY 

SCHOOLS. 


SARA    E.   WILTSE. 


GINN  &  COMPANY 

BOSTON  .  NEW  YORK  •  CHICAGO  •  LONDON 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1885,  by 
SARA  E.  WILTSE, 

in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  ot  Congress,  at  Washington. 
35.11 


Education 
Add'l 

GIFT 


GIX-N   &   COMPANY-  PRO- 
PRIETORS •  BOSTON  •  U.S.A. 


As  6s 


PEEFACE. 


rriJJESE  stories  have  been  told  to  children,  and  none 
has  been  put  in  this  volume  until  judged  and  ap- 
proved by  the  small  critics. 

Three  illustrations  —  "The  Grame  of  Blindman's  Buff 
in  the  Star  Garden "  ;  "I  Fink  the  Stars  are  Playing 
Peep-boo  with  me,  Mamma";  and  the  ''Cat  and  Mouse " 
—  were  drawn  by  the  children  who  have  oftenest  heard 
the  stories.  It  invariably  heightened  their  interest,  to  be 
allowed  to  illustrate  such  points  as  seemed  to  them  of 
most  importance. 

My  thanks  are  due  the  editors  of  "The  Independent," 
of  New  York,  and  "The  Christian  Register,"  of  Boston, 
for  kind  permission  to  make  use  of  such  of  these  pro- 
ductions as  have  appeared  in  their  pages  from  time  to 

time. 

THE   AUTHOR. 

232 


INDEX. 


SPRING-TIME  PRAYER 1 

A  LEGEND  OF  THE  COWSLIP 2 

FISH  OR  FROGS 3 

WHAT  ARE  THE  DANDELIONS  ?.......  10 

SUMMER  PRAYER 12 

JACK  AND  GILL       ..........  13 

THE  WALNUT  TREE  THAT  WANTED  TO  BEAR  TULIPS     .        .        .23 

CARL  AND  THE  EARTH  WORMS 27 

THE  MAN  WHO  WANTED  TO  CHAIN  THE  SEA 31 

AUTUMN  PRAYER     ..........  35 

STORY  OF  A  MOUSE 36 

PEEP  STAR  !    STAR  PEEP  !                 42 

GRANDMA  KAOLINE 46 

GRANDMA  KAOLINE'S  STORY    ........  49 

WINTER  PRAYER 55 

Two  PICTURES 56 

A  LEGEND  OF  THE  GREAT  DIPPER          .                         ......  57 

THE  LITTLE  BOY  IN  OUR  HOUSE    .         .        .        .  .        .63 

IDDLY  BUNG'S  APRIL  CHRISTMAS  TREE 64 

A  STORY  FOR  WILLIE  WINKLE  72 


SPRING-TIME   PRAYER 

i. 

Hear  us  thank  Thee,  kindest  Friend, 
For  the  spring-time  Thou  dost  send; 
For  the  warm  sunshine  and  rain ; 
For  the  birds  that  sing  again; 
For  the  sky  so  clear  and  blue ; 
For  our  kindergarten  too. 

> 
ii. 

Help  me  in  my  heart  to  thank  Thee ; 
Help  me  with  my  lips  to  praise  Thee: 
May  I  to  each  playmate  be 
Kind,  as  Thon  hast  been  to  me. 


2  A   LEGEND   OF  THE    COWSLIP. 

A  LEGEND   OF  THE   COWSLIP. 

There  was  a  time,  long  ago,  when  the  Cowslip 
had  no  golden  blossoms.  To  be  sure,  she  wished 
to  have  them,  but  as  she  did  not  know  how  to 
bloom,  she  contented  herself,  for  one  summer, 
with  her  rich,  dark  leaves,  and  in  autumn  fell 
asleep  with  her  feet  curled  close  and  warm 
under  ground,  and  her  head  tucked  beneath  the 
cover  which  her  mother  provided. 

But  one  night  she  woke  with  a  little  shiver, 
and  said: 

u  Mother,  Pm  cold ;  "  and  her  mother  hastened 
to  cover  her  with  a  gaily  colored  blanket  of 
leaves,  after  which  she  slept  many  days  and 
nights,  until  a  frosty,  starry  hour  came,  when 
she  stirred  a  little,  and  whispered : 

"  Mother,  I'm  cold." 

Then  her  mother  covered  her  with  a  white 
blanket  soft  as  down  upon  the  mother  bird^s 
breast,  and  our  Cowslip  slept  softly  but  soundly 
many  weeks. 

One  May  morning  she  heard  a  delightful 
rustling  all  around  her,  whereupon  she  nestled 
in  her  bed,  not  knowing  that  the  rustle  was 
caused  by  the  whispering  of  her  companions 


FISH  OE   FEOGS.  3 

under  ground,  who,  like  her,  were  just  awaken- 
ing from  happy  dreams,  pushing  out  their  white 
feet,  and  stretching  up  their  tiny  hands,  as  you 
have  seen  waking  babies  do. 

Then  she  heard  a  robin  sing,  but  as  the  earth 
still  covered  her,  the  song  was  but  half  under- 
stood, and  to  hear  better,  she  lifted  her  head 
high  enough  for  a  yellow  sunbeam,  who  had 
been  looking  everywhere  for  her,  to  see  her. 

She  remembered  both  the  sunbeam  and  the 
robin,  and  so  glad  was  she  to  see.  them  both, 
that  she  laughed  a -low,  sweet  uHa,  ha,  ha,  ha!" 
and  there  she  stood  in  full  bloom,  every  ha,  ha! 
having  become  a  smiling,  sunny -hearted  blos- 
som. 

Of  course  she  was  amazed,  and  hung  her  head 
in  a  sweetly  modest  fashion,  as  do  cowslips  to 
this  day ;  for  since  that  happy  spring-time,  not 
one  of  the  family  has  forgotten  to  laugh  itself 
into  golden  bloom,  when  it  hears  the  robin  and 
sees  the  yellow  sunbeam  of  merry  May. 

FISH   OR  FROGS. 

There  was  once  a  family  of  Frogs  living  in  a 
pond  in  the  warm  country,  which  was  so  ill- 


4  FISH  OE  FEOQS. 

natured  in  all  its  talk,  that  the  voice  of  each 
member  of  the  family  had  grown  harsh  and 
disagreeable ;  these  Frogs  could  not  even  sing 
sweetly,  they  had  so  spoiled  their  voices  with 
fretting  and  scolding. 

At  last  the  people,  living  near  this  pond, 
named  the  family  u  Blacksmith  Frogs, "  their 
voices  clanged  and  clashed  so  like  the  anvils 
and  hammers  of  blacksmiths. 

In  another  pond,  not  far  away,  lived  another 
family  of  Frogs  which  never  scolded ;  the  mother 
always  spoke  gently  to  her  children,  and  the 
children  spoke  softly  to  one  another;  when 
they  sang,  not  one  of  them  strained  its  voice, 
or  wrinkled  its  face  with  screaming;  and  the 
people  so  enjoyed  their  soft,  musical  piping, 
that  they  called  them  u  Sugar  Miller  Frogs," 
because  their  voices  were  not  unlike  the  sound 
made  by  the  mills  in  grinding  the  sweet,  juicy 
corn  and  beets  to  get  the  sugar  from  them. 

One  day  Mrs.  Blacksmith  Frog  went  to  see 
Mrs.  Sugar  Miller  Frog,  and  soon  as  she  was 
inside  the  door,  she  began  in  a  loud,  harsh 
voice :  c  Pm  sure  I  don^t  believe  we  shall  have 
any  weather  fit  for  hatching  eggs  this  year!  I 
never  saw  the  little  boys  behave  so  badly  in  my 


FISH  OR  FROGS.  5 

!.ife!  When  the  sun  conies  out,  it  scorches,  and 
when  the  clouds  come  along,  the  water  grows 
too  cold  for  grown  Frogs,  to  say  nothing  of 
babies ! " 

Mrs.  Sugar  Miller  Frog  had  had  no  chance 
to  speak  yet,  but  Mrs.  Blacksmith  Frog  stopped 
for  breath,  while  she  twitched  angrily  at  her 
bonnet  strings,  and  Mrs.  Sugar  Miller  Frog  hur- 
riedly, but  most  gently,  began: 

UI  really  thought  the  weather  quite  pleasant. 
I  am  sure  my  eggs  are  doing  nicely,  — just  see 
them  !  here  they  are  under  this  broad  lily-leaf,  — 
and  some  kind-hearted  boys  threw  me  this 
shingle,  on  which  I  can  float  about  when  the 
sun  shines,  or  under  which  I  can  sit  when  it 
rains ;  when  the  sun  is  too  warm,  Mr.  Frog 
pushes  it  under  those  willow  branches  for  me." 

Mrs.  Blacksmith  Frog  had  been  angry  with 
the  boys  who  threw  a  shingle  in  her  pond,  and 
she  went  home  to  scold  Mr.  Blacksmith  Frog 
because  he  did  not  push  her  about  the  pond  on 
a  shingle,  and  Mr.  Blacksmith  Frog  scolded  her 
because  she  did  not  get  home  in  time  to  get  his 
dinner ;  and  with  all  the  scolding,  they  nearly 
forgot  to  attend  to  the  eggs. 

Both  Frog  mothers  staid  at  home  some  time 


6  FISH  OR   FROGS. 

after  this,  to  attend  their  eggs ;  but  one  morn- 
ing Mrs.  Sugar  Miller  Frog  ran  over  to  Mrs. 
Blacksmith  Frog  to  tell  a  wonderful  story,  of 
how  her  eggs  had  all  hatched,  and  instead  of 
bottle-green  baby  Frogs,  she  had  a  large  family 
of  young  Fish! 

uFish!  horrid  Fish!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Black- 
smith Frog.  u  Pd  be  ashamed  to  say  it,  and  I 
don^t  believe  you  know  Fish  from  Frogs ! " 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blacksmith  Frog  hurried  over 
to  their  neighbors  pond,  and  looked  at  the  babies 
with  much  disapproval,  for  they  surely  looked 
less  like  Frogs  than  like  Fish. 

Mrs.  Sugar  Miller  Frog  was  very  cheerful, 
saying  she  was  fond  of  her  babies  any  way,  and 
she  felt  sure  it  would  be  pleasant  to  have  Fish 
in  the  family;  they  had  many  advantages  over 
Frogs,  and  look  at  them  as  you  might,  they  were 
the  dearest,  prettiest  babies  in  the  world ! 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blacksmith  Frog  went  scolding 
homeward,  much  disgusted  with  Frogs  who 
were  not  contented  in  their  own  sphere,  but 
wanted  to  look  like  Fish,  and  get  into  society 
in  which  they  did  not  belong. 

What  was  their  surprise,  on  arriving  at  their 
own  pond,  to  find  that  their  eggs  had  hatched, 


FISH  OR   FROGS. 


7 


and  their  babies  looked  as  much  like   Fish  as 
did  their  neighbor^. 

Mrs.  Blacksmith  Frog  shook  her  babies,  and 
scolded,  until  Mr.  Blacksmith  Frog  buried  him- 
self in  the  mud  for  three  days,  where  he  kept  up 


such  a  grumbling  and  growling  that  the  people 
thought  they  -would  have  to  move  away. 

One  day  Mrs.  Blacksmith  Frog  was  so  fright- 
ened at  something  that  happened  to  her  babies 
that  she  forgot  to  open  her  mouth  until  she  was 


8  FISH  OR   FROGS. 

inside  her  neighbors  door,  and  then  she  talked 
and  cried  both  at  once  : 

LCMrs.  Sugar  Miller  Frog!  My  babies  are 
neither  Fish  —  nor  —  Frogs !  they  are  horrid  Boys ! 
I  know  they  are,  for  they  have— two  legs!" 

UI  would  not  cry,"  answered  Mrs.  Sugar  Mil- 
ler Frog.  UI  find  my  children  seem  to  be  boys 
too,  but  I  am  not  grieved.  I  like  the  little  boys 
I  have  seen  about  here.  We  ought  to  be  pleased 
if  our  children  are  to  be  men." 

Mrs.  Blacksmith  Frog  went  home,  and  made 
her  husband  and  children  quite  unhappy  with 
her  fault  finding,  until  one  day,  she  found  two 
more  legs  pushing  out  from  the  body  of  her 
oldest  child ;  then  she  called  him  a  naughty 
child  for  not  telling  her  in  the  first  place  that 
he  was  going  to  have  four  legs,  instead  of  let- 
ting her  think  he  was  going  to  be  a  biped. 

She  now  insisted  that  the  children  should  all 
sit  with  her  on  the  shingle  in  the  sun,  to  hasten 
the  sprouting  of  the  new  legs,  but  they  could 
not  obey  her,  for  any  child  knows  that  sitting 
in  the  sunshine  would  quite  kill  a  soft  little 
tadpole. 

One  day  the  youngest  baby  seemed  hoarse, 
and  when  Mrs.  Blacksmith  Frog  opened  its 


FISH  OR  FROGS.  9 

little  mouth  to  look  in  its  throat,  the  month 
fell  off  in  her  hand !  She  tried  to  put  it  back, 
but  the  other  children  saw  at  once  that  the  baby 
looked  more  like  his  papa  without  his  little 
beak-like  mouth,  and  they  took  their  own 
mouths  off,  and  stood  there  with  funny,  wide- 
open  jaws,  looking  so  much  like  their  own 
scolding  parents,  that  their  mother  could  not 
send  them  to  bed  without  their  supper  as  she 
had  threatened. 

One  morning  these  little  tadpoles  came  in  a 
row  for  their  breakfast,  eager  to  tell  their 
mamma  that  they  had  left  their  tails  behind 
them ;  they  were  as  pleased  as  a  small  boy  with 
his  first  trousers,  but  their  mamma  had  formed 
such  a  habit  of  fault  finding,  that  now  they 
stood  before  her,  perfect  little  Frogs,  she  had  no 
pleasant  words  for  them,  but  began  a  complaint 
about  their  carelessness  in  dropping  the  tails 
about  in  the  bottom  of  the  pond;  and  expressed 
many  doleful  fears  lest  the  pond  should  be  filled 
with  a  load  of  useless  tails. 

With  this  new  trouble  she  went  to  Mrs.  Sugar 
Miller  Frog,  who  said : 

UI  am  so  happy!  I  was  pleased  with  the 
prospect  of  my  Fish  children ;  i  was  not  sorry 


10  WHAT  ARE  THE  DANDELIONS? 

when  I  thought  them  boys  ;  but  now  that  they 
are  becoming  Frogs,  so  like  ourselves,  I  am  so 
happy  I  sing  all  night  for  joy." 

But  Mrs.  Blacksmith  Frog  made  such  loud 
and  bitter  complaints,  that  the  people  who  lived 
near  her  pond  heartily  wished  she  would  move 
to  North  America—  but  she  never  did. 


WHAT  ARE   THE   DANDELIONS? 

u  Mamma,  what  are  the  dandelions?"  asked 
little  Susy,  as  she  saw  them  for  the  first  time 
in  her  life,  which  you  must  know  had  not 
been  very  long. 

"They  are  flowers,  Susy." 

UI  know  that,  mamma;  but  they  are  some- 
thing more  than—  than—  "  but  Susy  could  think 
of  no  flower  which  was  only  a  flower  to  her; 
so  she  asked  another  question. 

uDo  their  roots  go  down,  down,  very  deep, 
mamma  ?  " 

"  Deeper  than  the  roots  of  most  small  flowers  ; 
but  why  do  you  ask  that,  Susy?" 

uOh,  I  thought  they  must  go  down  to  the 
gold,  and  draw  it  up  into  the  sunshine  ;  that 


WHAT   ARE   THE  DANDELIONS f  11 


would  make  the  gold  happy,  and  that  is  the 
reason  the  dandelions  laugh." 

Susy  walked  on  without  speaking  again, 
until  she  and  her  mamma  reached  one  of  the 
pleasant  parlors  on  Beacon  Street,  "which  over- 
looks the  Common,  and  then  she  clapped  her 
hands,  and  cried : 

u  I  see,  I  see  it  now !  Mamma,  why  didn't  you 
tell  me  it  was  God's  spatter  work  ?  " 

UI    did    not   think    of    that,"    answered    her 


mamma. 

u 


u 


What  did  you  think?" 

Nothing  so  beautiful  as  your  thought,  my 
child;  but  I  will  tell  you.  I  thought  of  the 
beautiful  myth  of  Freya,  in  whom  the  Goths 
believed.  They  tell  that  she  was  forsaken  by 
her  husband,  and,  in  her  grief,  wandered  all 
over  the  earth  shedding  golden  tears." 

uAnd  the  dandelions  grew  up  where  her 
golden  tears  fell,  didn't  they,  mamma?" 

u  Perhaps  they  did ;  for  the  Goths  tell  that 
before  her  there  was  winter,  but  as  soon  as 
she  passed,  flowers  sprang  up,  until  the  whole 
earth  blossomed." 


12  SUMMER  PR A^ EH. 


SUMMER  PRAYER. 
I. 

Kindest  Friend,  we  thank  Thee  now 
While  our  heads  we  lowly  bow, 
For  the  summer  sun,  and  shower, 
For  each  bright  and  smiling  flower, 
For  grass  so  green,  and  cloud  so  white, 
For  rosy  morn,  and  dewy  night. 

n. 

Help  me  in  my  heart  to  thank  Thee ; 
Help  me  with  my  lips  to  praise  Thee ; 
May  I  to  each  playmate  be 
Kind,  as  Thou  hast  been  to  me. 


JACK  AND  GILL.  IS 

JACK  AND  GILL. 

Jack  is  four,  and  Gill  is  three  years  old. 
They  live  in  the  street  day-times,  and  "why 
they  go  home  nights  is  a  mystery,  for  they 
find  little  there  to  make  them  happy.  Jack 
and  Gill  never  quarrel  with  each  other;  they 
are  never  separated;  they  manage  to  steal  out 
of  the  house,  hand  in  hand,  before  the  people 
are  awake,  and  sometimes  they  wait  outside 
the  door  at  night,  until  they  hear  the  heavy 
breathing  of  the  brutal  man  and  woman  inside, 
and  know  by  that  sign  that  it  is  quite  safe 
to  enter. 

Some  mornings  they  find  a  little  bread,  or  a 
few  crackers  for  their  breakfast,  which  they 
put  in  their  pockets,  and  eat  in  the  street,  by 
the  stone  trough,  placed  there  by  some  friend 
of  animals. 

If  there  is  nothing  on  the  table  but  the  jug 
and  the  beer  can,  they  go  to  a  little  bake- 
house, kept  by  a  kind-hearted  Scotch  woman, 
who  saves  all  her  stale  cakes  for  the  Ltwee 
bairnies,"  and  gives  them  fresh  milk  to  moisten 
them,  all  the  time  rebuking  herself  that  she 
does  not  give  her  freshest  cakes,  for  she  says 


14  JAQK  AND   GILL. 

to  her  u  gude  mon,"  uEh,  maister,  if  the  Holy 
Bairnie  cam  this  way,  we^d  gie  Him  a1 ;  an1  1 
often  think  it  is  Himsel1  hid  in  them,  a  spierin^ 
aboot  to  see  if  we  hev  the  love  in  oor  herts  that 
He  had  for  us." 

Jack  and  Gill  understand  nothing  of  this 
talk,  and  offer  in  payment  for  their  breakfast 
such  bits  of  greenery  or  faded  flowers  as  they 
find  about  the  school  house,  which  they  pass 
on  their  way  to  the  bakery ;  nor  do  they  sus- 
pect that  the  janitor  puts  out  the  freshest  of 
the  fading  flowers,  and  from  a  window  watches 
their  delight  in  finding  them. 

Jack  always  holds  Gill  by  the  hand. 

Jack  is  short  and  stout,  with  a  head  as 
round  as  a  ball,  eyes  round  as  marbles,  and  he 
waddles  as  if  he  would  get  along  better  with- 
out than  with  his  stumpy  little  legs,  for  then 
he  could  roll;  his  round  eyes  are  brown,  his 
round  cheeks  are  a  dark,  glowing  red,  and  his 
face  is  lighted  by  a  "wonderful  smile,  even  when 
great  tears  stand  in  his  eyes;  he  wears  little 
trousers  with  holes  in  the  knees;  shoes  with 
holes  in  the  toes ;  stockings  with  no  toes  at 
all,  so  there  is  always  a  little  pink  toe  of  his 
own  peeping  out.  One  stocking  is  generally 


JACK  AND   GILL. 


15 


tied  up,  but  hls^  shoe-strings  always  draggle  in 
the  dirt  and  often  trip  him.  He  wears  a  calico 
waist  with  only  two  buttons  on  it,  one  at  the 


neck,  and  one  at  the  side  of  the  belt ;  the  other 
fastenings  are  bent  pins  and  bits  of  string. 
Over  this  waist  he  wears  a  woolen  coat  all 
summer,  and  on  his  head  he  wears  a  round 


16  JACK  AND   a  ILL. 

woolen  cap,  the  crown  of  which,  is  of  gray  and 
the  sides  of  hlack  cloth. 

Gill  is  not  round ;  she  is  almost  as  tall  as 
Jack,  hut  of  very  slender  frame ;  she  is  not 
pretty,  and  yet  everybody  sees  her  when  she 
passes ;  and  most  people  turn  to  see,  if  they 
can,  how  they  happened  to  notice  her  at  all ; 
and  many  speak  to  her  without  knowing  why. 
Gill  wears  a  faded  calico  dress ;  an  apron  with 
a  long  slit  from  the  neck  to  the  hem ;  a  pair 
of  shoes,  or  rather  one  slipper  and  one  shoe, 
the  stocking  on  the  slippered  foot  heing  tied 
up,  hut  the  one  on  the  other  foot  hanging 
down  over  the  top  of  the  shoe.  She  wears  a 
sugar-loaf  hat  with  a  soiled  ribbon  around  it. 
She  has  not  as  much  color  in  her  cheeks  as 
Jack  has,  and  never  trips  and  falls  as  Jack 
does.  Her  hair  is  yellow  -brown ;  her  eyes,  blue 
when  she  is  happy,  gray  when  she  is  sad,  and 
almost  burning  black  when  she  is  angry ;  and 
happy,  sad,  or  angry,  all  the  light  of  her  face 
seems  to  have  centered  in  her  eyes. 

She  will  thank  a  gentleman  for  a  penny 
with  something  in  those  eyes  which  makes 
him  watch  to  see  that  she  does  not  throw  the 
penny  scornfully  at  him  when  he  passes  on; 


JACK  AND   GILL.  17 

and  she  will  scratch  a  girl  who  laughs  at  Jack, 
with  another  look  in  her  eyes  which  seems  to 
say:  UI  would  rather  kiss  than  scratch,  but 
how  can  I  ?  " 

Gill  is  afraid  of  no  one,  and  has  learned  that 
her  little  songs  often  earn  a  dinner;  so  when  a 
fine  lady  turns  to  look  after  the  strange  child, 
she  will  often  clasp  her  hands  behind  her  and 
sing,  "while  Jack  looks  on  in  mute  admiration, 
or  pulls  at  her  dress  to  stop  her,  according  to 
the  degree  of  his  hunger.  The  lady  generally 
waits  to  see  what  Gill  will  do  next ;  and  some- 
thing both  saucy  and  hungry  in  the  blue -gray 
eyes  tells  the  story,  and  the  offered  pennies 
are  seized,  and  the  children  are  gone  before  the 
Lady  has  thought  to  ask  any  questions.  Now 
that  you  know  who  they  are  and  how  they 
look,  I  will  begin  the  story  of  Jack  and  Gill's 
Fourth  of  July. 

Jack  and  Gill  started  out  early  to  spend  this 
day ;  they  knew  the  man  and  woman  would  be 
cross  all  day ;  they  always  were  on  holidays. 

On  the  morning  of  the  Fourth,  when  Jack 
heard  the  first  gun,  he  dressed  himself,  and 
pulled  Gill's  stockings  on  for  her  before  waking 
her;  then  he  patted  her  softly  and  steadily, 


18  JACK  AND    GILL. 

until  the  blue  eyes  opened,  when,  without  a 
word,  she  crept  out  of  bed,  and  into  her  dress, 
which  Jack  buttoned  awry,  peeped  about  the 
house  for  bread,  which  was  not  there,  put  her 
hand  in  Jack^s,  and  with  him  crept  down  the 
dark  staircase,  and  away  to  the  bakehouse, 
where,  in  honor  of  the  day,  they  thought,  but 
really  in  love  of  the  u  Holy  Bairnie,"  they  found 
a  sumptuous  breakfast  of  fresh  milk  and  warm 
rolls  with  butter,  after  which  each  had  a  large 
piece  of  Washington  pie. 

Then  they  went  to  the  water  trough  to  decide 
upon  the  best  way  to  spend  the  day.  Jack  pro- 
posed going  to  sea,  "which  he  thought  lay  at  the 
foot  of  Tremont  Street,  but  Gill  preferred  the 
'c  Garding."  They  settled  the  question  by  de- 
ciding to  go  to  both  places,  and  waited  for  the 
"good  policeman"  to  tell  them  which  was  the 
nearer.  When  he  came,  they  both  spoke  at  once, 
Jack  saying :  — 

c  Which  is  f ardest,  the  sea  or  the  gardmg  ?  " 
and  Gill  asking :  - 

c  Which  is  nearest,  the  garding  or  the  sea  ?  " 
The  policeman  told  them  that  both  were  too  far 
away  for  such  little  folks,  but  he  would  give  them 
some  torpedoes  to  play  with  where  they  were. 


JACK  AND   GILL.  19 

As  they  had  no  pockets,  Jack  proposed  they 
should  "pop"  them  at  once,  and  then  go  until 
they  found  either  the  "garding"  or  the  sea,  for 
he  had  no  intention  of  heeding  the  policeman*^ 
advice  to  stay  near  the  stone  trough  all  day. 

The  crowd  that  jostled  the  children  was  no 
unusual  sight  to  them,  hut  the  shop  windows 
were  always  wonderful.  They  looked  at  toys, 
and  selected  such  as  they  would  buy  when  they 
were  grown  up  and  had  money  to  spend,  and 
all  the  time  they  plodded  on  toward  the  city, 
for,  to  them,  Boston  was  a  far-away  wonder- 
land. They  never  understood  that  they  lived  in 
the  city,  because  they  lived  in  the  Highlands ; 
and  when  a  warm-hearted  Irish  woman,  with 
her  baby  in  her  arms,  asked  them  where  they 
were  going,  they  answered,  uTo  the  city,"  fear- 
ing she  would  insist  upon  turning  them  home- 
ward, if  they  told  her  of  the  sea  or  the  garden. 
When  they  reached  Berkeley  Street,  they  found 
the  crowd  greater ;  and  looking  in  all  directions, 
they  caught  a  glimpse  of  splendid  horses,  with 
riders  plumed  and  spangled;  and  hearing  a 
drum,  they  hurried  toward  Columbus  Avenue, 
where  a  grand  procession  was  marching  toward 
the  city. 


20  JACK  AND   GILL. 

"  If  we  could  only  get  up  high,"  sighed  Gill, 
just  as  Jack  bumped  his  head  against  the  post 
of  a  scaffolding  that  surrounded  a  new  building. 
Up  Jack  clambered,  and  in  a  moment  had  pulled 
Gill  after  him.  Then  they  clapped  their  hands 
with  delight  until  the  crowd  disappeared  down 
the  street,  when  they  slid  down  the  post  and 
followed  it.  Jack  found  a  nickel  on  the  pave- 
ment, and  leading  Gill  into  a  fashionable  res- 
taurant, deposited  it  on  the  counter,  calling  for 
uice  cream  for  Gill  and  me."  The  pretty  wait- 
ress was  about  to  send  them  away,  but  the 
proprietor  happening  to  see  them,  motioned 
her  to  wait  upon  them.  So  ice  cream  and  cake 
were  served  the  hungry  pair,  after  which  the 
proprietor  showed  them  the  street  that  led  to 
the  garden,  which  they  soon  reached. 

They  stood  quite  still  at  the  entrance  for 
some  minutes,  looking  from  geraniums  to  trees, 
and  then  at  geraniums  again.  They  did  not  run 
in,  as  did  other  children,  but  walked  slowly,  as 
if  afraid  it  was  a  dream  from  which  they  would 
wake  unless  they  were  very  quiet. 

Jack  knelt  and  patted  the  turf,  and  Gill  kissed 
it.  Then  they  -went  to  a  bed  of  geraniums  and 
knelt  again.  A  policeman  stood  near,  but  he 


JACK  AND   GILL.  21 

p 

need  not  have  watched  them;  they  did  not 
know  they  could  break  those  stems,  nor  would 
they  have  dared  try  if  the  policeman  had  given 
them  permission. 

Gill  found  a  faded  cluster  in  the  gravelled 
path,  and  after  holding  it  to  her  heart  a  moment, 
she  put  it  in  Jack^s  button  hole,  calling  it  a 
u  sweet  pretty  deaded  flower,"  after  which  the 
policeman  offered  to  take  them  to  see  something 
pretty.  He  took  them  to  the  white  lady  of  the 
fountain,  and  bade  them  stay  there  till  he  came 
again,  which  they  willingly  did,  balancing 
themselves  upon  the  stone  basin,  and  talking 
to  the  goldfish  that  just  eluded  their  fingers. 
The  policeman  told  the  superintendent  the  story 
of  the  u sweet  pretty,  deaded  flower"  and  re- 
turned with  a  large  bouquet  for  each  of  the 
children.  Jack  stood  on  his  head,  and  Gill  sat 
down  in  the  gravelled  path  and  hugged  her 
flowers,  kissing  their  pretty  eyes  and  talking  to 
them  in  a  low  tone  of  the  Good  Man  who  made 
flowers  and  ice  cream.  But  the  day  did  not  pass 
without  trouble  for  our  little  ones.  They  were 
sitting  on  the  stone  steps  by  the  bridge  watch- 
ing the  swans  and  the  boats  so  intently  that 
they  did  not  see  the  burning  stump  of  a  cigar 


22  JACK  AND    GILL. 

that  was  carelessly  thrown  upon  GilPs  thin 
skirt ;  the  little  dress  flashed  and  flamed  to  her 
very  eyes  before  either  could  speak.  Without 
looking  to  the  right  or  left,  Jack  tore  off  his 
coat,  and  wrapped  it  close  about  Gill,  and  hold- 
ing firmly  to  the  sleeves,  he  thrust  her  into  the 
pond,  before  the  "women  on  the  bridge  could 
scream,  or  the  men  think  what  to  do.  Many 
strong  arms  were  ready  to  take  the  dripping 
child  from  the  water;  and,  taking  up  the  dear 
flowers  which  they  had  both  instinctively 
thrown  far  from  the  scorching  flames,  Jack 
clasped  the  little  crimson  hand  in  his  own 
blistered  one,  and  started  homeward,  —  no  cry 
having  been  uttered  by  either  of  them. 

But  a  gentleman  who  had  witnessed  it  all 
took  the  wee  girl  in  his  arms,  and  asked  Jack 
if  they  would  like  to  ride  home  in  his  car- 
riage. 

The  burns  were  more  painful  than  dangerous, 
and  were  well  dressed  by  a  physician  before 
the  children  were  taken  home. 

The  next  week  a  strange  thing  occurred :  the 
postman  inquired  for  Master  Jack  Nelligan,  and 
deposited  a  small  package  in  his  hand,  which 
contained  a  shining  gold  medal,  stamped  thus : 


TEE  WALNUT  THEE.  23 


And  Jack  and  Gill  wear  it  alternately,  won 
dering  what  it  means. 


THE    WALNUT    TREE    THAT    WANTED 
TO    BEAR    TULIPS. 

Many  years  ago,  when  your  grandmamma^s 
grandmamma  'was  a  little  girl,  there  stood  a 
tall  young  Walnut  tree  in  .the  back  yard  of  a 
tulip  dealer. 

Now  the  Walnut  thought  he  had  never  seen 
anything  so  beautiful  as  the  little  Tulips  that 
were  set  out  in  the  yard  to  be  kissed  by  the 
Sun,  who  each  day  paid  a  visit  of  an  hour  to 
the  Walnut. 

The  wonder  is  that  the  Sun  did  not  stay 
longer  to  watch  the  pretty  shadow  pictures 
which  the  Walnut  began  to  make  on  the  grass 
as  soon  as  the  Sun  said  "good  morning." 


24  THE  WALNUT  TREE. 

Another  wonder  is,  that  the  great  Walnut 
ever  thought  of  looking  down  at  the  dear  lit- 
tle Tulips,  when  he  might  have  looked  up  at 
the  greater  Sun.  But  so  he  did,  and  you  and  I 
will  never  know  the  why  of  a  great  many 
things  smaller  even,  than  that,  until  we  go  up 
higher,  to  be  taught  by  the  dear  Friend  who 
knows  everything. 

However,  the  Tulips  were  very  lovely,  I  assure 
you,  with  their  scarlet  and  golden  cups. 

One  day  a  wonderful  sister  Tulip  was  brought 
out.  What  color  was  she,  do  you  suppose  ? 

"  Crimson?" 


u  Purple?" 


I  am  sure  you  will  not  be  able  to  guess,  so 
I  will  tell  you. 

She  was  black,  and  she  was  softer  than  vel- 
vet, and  more  glossy  than  satin. 

When  the  Walnut  saw  this  beautiful  Tulip, 
every  little  leaf  danced  in  the  air  for  joy,  and 
every  little  branch  bent  low.  TouVe  seen  the 
trees  bending  to  kiss  the  children  and  the  flow- 
ers that  "way,  I  am  sure. 

The  Walnut  did  something  else,  which  I  will 


THE  WALNUT  TREE.  25 

tell  you,  if  you  will  promise  not  to  tell  the 
Hickory  or  the  Chestnut.  He  dropped  a  little 
leaf  at  the  Tulip^s  feet,  which  was  written  all 
over  with  a  wonderful  language  that  nobody 
but  trees  and  flowers,  birds  and  bees,  and 
perhaps  Mr.  Tennyson  or  Mr.  Kingsley  could 
read. 

The  Tulip  did  not  seem  to  care  about  the  leaf 
or  the  letter  written  on  it,  and  we  cannot  tell 
•whether  she  sent  an  answer  back  to  the  Walnut 
or  not ;  be  that  as  it  may,  the  Walnut  was  not 
quite  so  happy  after  he  sent  the  letter,  but  he 
began  growing  better. 

And  do  you  not  think  it  wiser  in  our  best 
Friend  to  make  us  good  instead  of  happy,  some- 
times ? 

The  Walnut  used  to  say  after  this  happened, 
"Til  bear  Tulips  myself." 

How  would  a  walnut  tree  look  with  Tulips 
among  its  leaves? 

You  think  that  could  never,  never  happen? 
We  shall  see. 

Walnut  struck  his  roots  deeper,  and  spread  his 
branches  broader  and  broader,  until  he  was  quite 
wonderful  to  look  upon.  Sometimes  the  Wind 
used  to  hear  him  singing  something  like  this : 


£6  THE  WALNUT  TREE. 

which  was  set  to  the  most  beautiful,  rustling 
little  tune  you  ever  heard : 

"We'll  bear  tulips  yet; 
Leaves  and  I  can  ne'er  forget; 
Roots,  be   not  weary ; 
Heart,  be  thou  cheery  ; 
The  blessing  may  tarry, 
But  we'll  bear  tulips  yet,  — 
Leaves,  roots,  and  heart,  do  not  forget." 

A  hundred  years  went  by,  but  there  were  no 
Tulips  among  the  leaves  of  the  Walnut  tree.  A 
hundred  years  is  a  long  time  for  trees  to  wait, 
is  it  not  ?  We  can  afford  to  wait  longer  for  some 
things  than  can  the  trees,  for  we  never,  never 
really  and  truly  die.  !N~ow  at  the  end  of  the 
hundred  years  this  Walnut  fell  to  singing  an- 
other refrain  which  the  years  had  been  teaching 
him : 

"I  bear  no  tulips  yet; 

And  though  I  ne'er  forget, 

As  Thou  wilt,  Master,  let  it  be; 

Tulips,  or  only  leaves  for  me, 

Still  I  will  cheery  be. 

Do  Thou  Thy  will  with  me; 

Leaves,  roots,  and  heart  I  yield  to  Thee  " 


CAUL  AND  THE  EARTH  WO&MS.  2*7 

This  dear  Walnut  had  been  very  brave  and 
stout  hearted.  He  had  left  nothing  undone 
which  any  Walnut  tree  could  do,  and  he 
had  grown  very  fine  in  fibre  and  perfect  in 
form,  so  that  one  day  a  wood  carver  said : 
uThat  perfect  tree  is  just  what  I  want  for  my 
work."  The  brave  old  Walnut  was  cut  down 
and  sawed  and  chipped ;  but  he  did  not  mind, 
for  what  do  you  suppose  the  wood  carver  was 
making  ? 

Black  Tulips,  to  be  sure! 

Then  I  advise  you  to  look  sharply  at  every 
bit  of  wood  carving  you  can  find,  for  those 
very  Tulips  are  somewhere,  feeling  very  happy 
that  they  can  bloom  all  the  year  round,  while 
some  of  the  Tulips  we  know  have  to  sleep  half 
the  year  at  least. 

(Any  hard-wood  tree,  more  familiar  to  the  children,  may  be  sub- 
stituted for  the  walnut,  and  if  they  are  familiar  with  any  particular 
leaf  or  flower  in  wood-carving,  the  story  may  be  modified  to  suit  the 
carving.) 

CARL    AND    THE    EARTH   WORMS. 

Carl's  hands  were  dirty;  Carl's 
face  was  dirty;  Carl's  finger  nails 


28  CARL  AND  THE  EARTH  WORMS. 

were  black  at  the  ends;  Carl's 
clothes  were  soiled;  Carl's  hair 
was  not  brushed,  and  his  head 
looked  like  an  old  chestnut  bur. 

Carl  could  not  tell  if  he  had 
ever  had  a  bath,  and  I  do  not 
believe  he  had  had  more  than 
three  in  the  three  years  in  which 
he  had  been  able  to  walk  alone. 
But  when  Carl  went  to  the  kin- 
dergarten, a  gentle  woman  took  off 
his  soiled  clothes,  put  him  in  a 
tub  of  clean  water,  and  with  brush, 
soap,  and  towels,  made  him  look 
almost  like  a  cherub. 

When  he  was  dressed  in  fresh, 
clean  clothes,  he  felt  as  if  he  could 


GAEL  AND    THE  EARTH  WORMS.  •    29 

never  be  dirty  again ;  and  lie  was 
so  happy  that  when  he  went  out 
to  play,  he  wanted  to  make  every- 
body and  everything  happy  too. 
In  the  garden  he  found  an  earth 
worm,  and  by  digging  he  found 
as  many  as  he  had  fingers ;  and  he 
ran  for  a  wash  basin  and  some 
warm  water,  and  before  the  gentle 
woman  knew  what  he  was  doing, 
he  had  them  all  washed,  and  was 
vainly  trying  to  hang  them  on 
the  fence  to  dry ;  for  said  he : 

"Poor  dirty  things!  they  want 
to  be  clean  for  once  in  their 
lives." 

But  they  did  not  want  to  hang 


30  CARL  AND    THE  EARTH  WORMS. 

on  the  fence,  and  they  did  want 
to  get  back  into  the  cool,  dark 
earth.  "When  he  understood  that 
that  would  make  them  happy,  he 
put  them  back,  and  heard,  with 
great  surprise,  that  they  had  much 
work  to  do  under  ground,  plough- 
ing and  boring  the  whole  earth, 
making  it  soft  and  loose  about  the 
little  seeds  so  they  can  grow;  the 
earth  needing  as  many  of  these 
little  living  ploughs  as  there  are 
seeds. 

JSTow  when  Carl  digs  up  an 
earth  worm,  he  puts  him  back  in 
great  haste,  saying:  'Go  back  to 
your  work,  little  earth  worm ;  you 


THE  MAN  WHO   WANTED  TO  CHAIN  THE  SEA.     31 

are  good  to  my  flower  seeds,  and  I 
will  be  good  to  yon." 


THE  MAN  WHO  WANTED  TO    CHAIN 
THE    SEA. 


Before  there  was  such  a  city  as  £few  York 
or  Boston  ;  before  great  London  or  lovely  Paris 
was  built  ;  even  before  the  Holy  Child  was  born, 
there  lived  a  very  proud  man  whose  name  was 
Xerxes.  He  "was  captain  over  a  great  many  sol- 
diers, who  did  not  fight  for  their  rights  as  men 
sometimes  must,  but  went  about  robbing  people 
of  their  lands  and  money. 

The  uncle  of  Xerxes,  who  was  older  and  wiser 
than  he,  once  advised  him  not  to  make  such 
cruel  wars,  but  Xerxes  answered  him  very 
saucily,  and  paid  no  attention  to  his  advice. 

In  a  march  which  he  undertook,  at  the  head 
of  his  soldiers,  he  found  a  strait  across  his  road, 
and  he  told  his  soldiers  they  must  build  a 
bridge  of  boats  across  the  strait,  on  which  the 
horses  and  cattle  could  cross  the  water. 

When  they  had  nearly  finished  the   bridge, 


32       THE  MAN  WHO  WANTED  TO  CHAIN  THE  SEA. 

there  arose  a  great  storm  at  sea,  and  the  water 
in  the  strait  was  lifted  up  in  great  waves,  which 
were  white  in  the  face,  but  their  paleness  seemed 
more  of  sorrow  than  of  anger.  The  weak  little 
boats,  of  which  the  bridge  was  made,  were  tossed 
about,  up  and  down,  rocked  and  pushed,  and 
strained  and  pulled,  until  the  chains  that  held 
them  together  were  torn  apart,  and  the  bridge 
was  spoiled. 

"When  Xerxes  saw  this,  he  turned  very  white 
in  the  face,  but  not  like  the  waves  of  the  sea, 
for  his  paleness  was  from  wicked  anger  and  not 
from  great  sorrow. 

Why  do  I  think  the  sea  was  sorry? 

Did  you  ever  stand  by  the  ocean,  and  look 
away,  away  to  where  the  sky  seems  bending 
over  the  water,  and  the  water  rising  up  to  the 
sky,  until  their  faces  are  both  hidden  in  a 
misty  veil?  Then  did  you  turn  your  back  to 
the  sorry  sea,  and  look  at  the  hills  covered  with 
trees,  and  grass,  and  merry  little  flowers  that 
laugh  when  the  rain  patters,  and  smile  when 
the  sun  sifts  its  gold  down  upon  them,  and  the 
great  earth  laughs  everywhere  before  you,  while 
behind  you  the  greater  sea  moans  and  is  sorry? 

I  think  the  sea  is  sorrv  for  the  foolish  little 


THE  MAN  WHO  WANTED  TO  CHAIN  THE  SEA.      33 

children  who  make  themselves  unhappy  with 
disagreements  when  they  might  be  joyous;  I 
think  the  sea  is  sorry  because  men  and  women 
are  so  often  selfish,  refusing  to  be  like  One  who 
always  went  about  doing  good ;  I  think  every 
child  could  give  some  reason  for  the  sorrow  of  the 
sea ;  but  we  must  see  what  Xerxes  did  about  his 
bridge. 

He  ordered  his  soldiers  to  throw  some  great 
chains  into  the  sea  to  teach  it  that  Xerxes  could 
bind  it ;  but  the  sea  flung  the  chains  deep  into  its 
own  caves,  and  lifted  its  waves  higher  than  ever. 
Then  Xerxes  ordered  other  soldiers  to  take  great 
whips,  and  give  this  troublesome  sea  three  hun- 
dred lashes,  after  "which  he  made  a  speech  to  the 
ocean,  which  you  must  remember  to  find  and 
read  when  you  are  old  enough  to  read. 

I  think  the  sea  could  not  help  laughing  at  this 
speech  ;  the  saddest  people  sometimes  laugh,  and 
so  I  think  whenever  the  ocean  conies  ashore  at 
flood  tide,  it  thinks  of  the  silly  speech,  and 
laughs  just  enough  to  leave  the  beach  dimpled 
and  curved,  as  children^  faces  are  dimpled  and 
curved  when  laughter  runs  over  them. 

Xerxes  thought  the  sea  was  his  enemy ;  so 
he  tried  to  fight  it. 


34      THE  MAN  WHO  WANTED  TO  CHAIN  THE  SEA. 

Since  the  Holy  Child  came  into  the  world,  men 
have  been  learning  that  the  sea  and  the  sun,  the 
air  and  rocks,  and  the  very  lightnings  them- 
selves, are.  friendly  to  us,  and  will  help  us  if  we 
use  them  wisely,  kindly,  and  in  the  love  of  Him 
who  made  them.  So  there  has  been  a  great  cord 
wrapped  around  the  sea,  by  the  help  of  which 
men  talk  across  the  wide  water  as  across  a  table. 

Do  you  know  the  name  of  this  wonderful  cord 
which  binds  the  nations  of  the  earth  together,  so 
that  love  has  chained  the  sea  as  Xerxes'  pride  and 
anger  failed  to  do  ? 


AUTUMN  PRAYER.  35 


AUTUMN   PRAYER 


Friend  so  gentle,  kind,  and  dear, 
Listen  to  Thy  children,  here, 
While  they  thank  Thee  for  Thy  love 
Shown  in  stars  that  shine  above ; 
Shown,  in  frost,  in  cloiid  overhead, 
Shown,  in  leaves  of  gold  and  red. 


ii. 

Help  me  in  my  heart  to  thank  Thee ; 
Help  me  with  my  lips  to  praise  Thee ; 
May  I  to  each  playmate  be 
Kind,  as  Thou  hast  been  to  me. 


8TOEY  OF  A   MOUSE. 


STORY  OF  A  MOUSE. 
(ADAPTED  FROM  AN  OLD  TALE.) 

A  very  neat  little  Mouse  once  lived  in  the 
same- house  with  an  ill-natured  old  Cat.  When 
this  little  Mouse  left  his  bed  in  the  morning,  he 
always  washed  and  brushed  himself  with  great 
care,  taking  particular  pains  with  his  long  tail, 
which  he  kept  very  sleek  and  pretty. 

One  morning  the  untidy  Cat  had  not  been 
able  to  find  her  brush  and  comb,  not  having 
put  them  in  their  proper  place  the  day  before ; 
and  when  the  Mouse  ran  past  her,  she  snapped 
his  pretty  tail  quite  off  because  she  felt  so  cross. 
The  little  Mouse  turned  and  said,  u  Please,  Mrs. 
Cat,  give  me  back  my  long  tail ! " 

Mrs.  Cat  answered,  UI  will  give  you  your 
long  tail  if  you  will  bring  me  a  saucer  of  milk; 
T  always  like  milk  better  than  tails." 

The  little  Mouse*  had  no  milk  in  his  pantry, 
but  he  took  his  tin  pail,  and  went  to  the  Cow, 
saying : 

u  Please,  Mrs.  Cow,  give  me  some  milk,  and  I 
will  give  Mrs.  Cat  some  milk,  and  Mrs.  Cat  will 
give  back  my  long  tail." 


STORY  OF  A   MOUSE.  37 


The  Cow  said :  I  will  give  you  some  milk, 
but  I  must  first  have  some  hay."  The  little 
Mouse  then  took  his  wheelbarrow,  and  going  to 
the  farmer,  said : 

u  Please,  Mr.  Farmer,  give  me  some  hay,  and 
I  will  give  Mrs.  Cow  some  hay ;  Mrs.  Cow  will 
give  me  some  milk,  and  I  will  give  Mrs.  Cat 
some  milk,  and  Mrs.  Cat  will  give  back  my 
long  tail.11 

The  farmer  said,  UI  would  be  glad  to  give 
you  some  hay,  but  my  barn  door  is  locked ;  if 
you  will  go  to  the  locksmith,  and  get  me  a  key, 
I  will  unlock  my  barn,  and  give  you  all  the 
hay  you  can  carry  on  your  little  wheelbar- 


row." 


Then  the  little  Mouse  took  his  pocket  book, 
and  went  to  the  locksmith,  saying,  u  Please, 
Mr.  Locksmith,  give  me  a  key,  and  I  will 
give  the  farmer  a  key,  and  the  farmer  will 
give  me  some  hay,  and  I  will  give  Mrs.  Cow 
some  hay,  and  Mrs.  Cow  will  give  me  some 
milk,  and  I  will  give  Mrs.  Cat  some  milk, 
and  Mrs.  Cat  will  then  give  me  back  my  long 
tail.11 

The  locksmith  said,  UI  must  have  a  file 
with  which  to  make  a  key;  if  you  will  get 


38  STORY  OF  A   MOUSE. 

me    a   file,    I  will    make    the    key    with    great 
pleasure." 

So  the  little  Mouse  took  his  satchel,  and  went 
to  the  blacksmith,  and  asked  him,  saying : 

1  Please,  Mr.  Blacksmith,  give  me  a  file,  and 
I  will  give  Mr.  Locksmith  a  file,  and  Mr.  Lock- 
smith will  give  me  a  key,  and  I  will  give  the 
farmer  a  key,  and  the  farmer  will  give  me  some 
hay,  and  I  will  give  Mrs.  Cow  some  hay,  and 
Mrs.  Cow  will  give  me  some  milk,  and  I  will 
give  Mrs.  Cat  some  milk,  and  Mrs.  Cat  will  give 
me  back  my  long  tail." 

The  blacksmith  answered,  ul  need  some  coal 
to  build  a  fire  before  I  can  make  a  file.  If  you 
will  go  to  the  miner,  and  get  me  some  coal,  I 
will  be  glad  to  make  a  file  for  you." 

So  the  Mouse  took  his  little  cart,  and  went 
down,  down  into  the  dark  earth,  until  he  saw 
a  man  with  a  lantern  on  his  hat,  and  when,  he 
spoke  to  the  man,  the  man  said,  "Well  done, 
little  Mousie,  how  did  you  get  so  far  "without  a 
light?" 

Mousie  answered  that  he  was  quite  used  to 
playing  in  the  dark,  and  now  he  must  work 
night  and  day  to  get  his  tail  again ;  and  then 
he  said: 


8 TORY  OF  A   MOUSE.  39 

u  Please,  Mr.  Miner,  give  me  some  coal,  and  I 
will  give  the  blacksmith  some  coal,  the  black- 
smith "will  give  me  a  file,  I  will  give  the  lock- 
smith a  file,  the  locksmith  will  give  me  a  key, 
I  "will  give  the  farmer  a  key,  and  the  farmer 
will  give  me  some  hay,  and  I  will  give  Mrs. 
Cow  some  hay,  and  Mrs.  Cow  will  give  me 
some  milk,  and  I  will  give  Mrs.  Cat  some 
milk,  and  Mrs.  Cat  will  give  me  back  my 
long  tail." 

Then  the  miner  filled  the  little  cart  with 
coal;  and  the  Mouse  trudged  up  to  the  black- 
smith, who  gave  him  the  file,  which  he  put  in 
his  little  satchel,  and  then  ran  as  fast  as  his 
feet  would  carry  him  to  the  locksmith,  who 
gave  him  a  key,  which  he  put  in  his  pocket 
book,  and  carried  to  the  farmer,  who  unlocked 
the  barn  door,  and  gave  him  all  the  hay  he 
could  pile  upon  his  wheelbarrow.  Mousie  took 
the  hay  to  Mrs.  Cow,  who  filled  his  little  tin 
pail  with  milk,  "which  the  Mouse  carried  to  the 
cat,  saying,  "Now,  Mrs.  Cat,  please  give  me 
back  my  long  tail." 

Mrs.  Cat  said  :  u  So  I  will,  my  dear;  but  where 
have  I  put  it?" 


40  STORY  OF  A   MOUSE. 


Then  this  untidy  Cat  called  all  the  people  in 
the  house,  saying:  u  Where  could  I  have  put  that 
tail?" 

uOh!  now  I  think  I  know  — I  believe  it  is 
in  the  upper  bureau  drawer."  But  the  tail  was 
not  in  the  upper  bureau  drawer,  and  the  poor 
Mousie  who  had  worked  so  hard  was  nearly 
ready  to  cry,  and  the  milk  was  getting  cold. 
Then  Mrs.  Cat  said :  UI  must  have  put  it  in  this 
closet,"  and  she  ran  to  the  closet,  pulling  down 
dresses  and  boxes;  but  there  was  no  tail  there, 
and  the  little  Mouse  had  to  wink  very  hard 
not  to  let  the  tears  fall,  and  the  milk  was  get- 
ting blue,  when  Mrs.  Cat  shouted:  uOf  course 
I  put  it  in  the  second  drawer ; "  but  she  tumbled 
all  the  things  out  of  the  drawer  and  found  no 
tail;  then  the  little  Mouse  had  to  sing  u  Yankee 
Doodle  "  to  keep  from  crying,  and  the  milk  was 
in  danger  of  getting  sour. 

Mrs.  Cat  now  clapped  her  paws,  and  said : 
tWhy,  I  know  where  it  is, —I  ought  to  have 
thought  before.  I  put  it  here  in  this  lower 
drawer,  in  this  very  box,  wrapped  up  so  neatly 
in  pink  tissue  paper.  Yes ;  hurrah  !  here  it  is  I " 
And  the  Mousie  took  his  pretty,  long  tail,  and 


8 TOUT  OF  A   MOUSE.  41 

ran  home  as  fast  as  he  could  to  get  some  glue 
to  stick  it  on  again;  and  Mrs.  Cat  ate  her  milk, 
thinking  she  would  try  hereafter  to  put  things 
in  their  places. 


(A  whole  series  of  clay-modelling  may  be  derived  from  this  story, 
the  children  —  even  the  youngest — finding  it  easy  to  model  a  mouse, 
two  small  heads  being  used  for  eyes;  the  older  ones  making  the 
saucer,  the  pail,  the  wheelbarrow,  etc.) 


PEEP  STAR!    STAR  PEEP  I 


PEEP  STAR!     STAR  PEEP! 

One  night  the  Stars  said  to  the  Moon,  u  Please 
may  we  stay  out  late  to-night  ?  We  want  to  play 
hide  and  seek." 

u  You  may  stay  as  late  as  you  please,"  said  the 
Moon,  uif  you  take  good  care  of  the  baby  Stars, 
and  lead  them  so  gently  that  none  of  them  will 
fall." 

So  each  Star  took  a  baby  Star  by  the  hand, 
and  led  it  out  into  the  sky  garden,  where  the 
game  was  to  be  played.  That  was  a  fine  night 


for  a  child  to  look  up  into  the  blue  sky,  for 
the  Stars  were  all  out:  large  Stars  and  small 
Stars,  Stars  that  could  run  fast  as  a  boy  ten 
years  old,  and  Stars  that  had  to  lie  on  little 


PEEP  STAR!    STAR  PEEP! 


43 


cloud   beds   to  watch,  tlie   game,   because   they 
were  too  small  to  run  without  falling. 

When  the  Stars  play  hide-and-seek,  they  do 
not  cover  their  eyes  with  a  bandage,  for  they 
can  shut  them  so  closely  that  even  the  Moon 
cannot  be  seen. 

The  oldest  sister  Star  began  the  game  by 
closing  her  eyes  and  counting  ten,  while  the 
others  held  up  their  fingers  for  her  to  count, 
which,  of  course,  no  Star  could  do  with  her 
eyes  shut. 

When  they  were  sure 
she  could  not  see  them, 
they  kept  their  lips 
closed  for  fear  a  laugh 
would  break  out  to  tell 
where  they  -were ;  and 
they  ran  on  tiptoe  until 
the  sister  Star  spread 
out  her  arms  and  al- 
most caught  a  dozen  of 
them.  Then  they  ran 
pell-mell  under  one  of 
the  little  "white  cloud  cribs,  and  a  child  who 
was  looking  at  them,  said,— 

>c  I  fink  the  Stars  are  playing  peep-boo  with 
me,  mamma." 


44  PEEP  STAR!    STAR  PEEP! 

One  of  the  Stars  heard  the  little  girl,  for  the 
Stars  are  very  glad  to  play  with  children,  and 
are  much  pleased  when  children  make  pictures 
of  them,  and  ask  questions  about  them ;  and 
the  Moon  is  always  willing  the  Stars  should 
be  friendly  with  children,  though  it  often  hap- 
pens that  a  careless  Star  leans  so  far  over  the 
sky-garden  Avail,  to  look  at  some  baby  of  earth, 
that  he  falls  down,  clown,  to  the  ground.  It 
does  not  hurt  Stars  to  fall  as  it  does  children, 
and  the  Moon  is  not  lonely  when  one  of  her 
Stars  comes  down  here,  for  she  can  see  and  hear 
them  wherever  they  are,  and  she  knows  better 
than  your  mamma  does  that  one  Father  takes 
care  of  all  children,  so  that  to  Him,  none  of 
them  are  ever  lost ;  though  the  Star  that  falls 
to  the  earth  does  not  shine  any  more,  as  it 
does  when  it  is  up  in  its  own  garden. 

When  you  are  older,  you  will  learn  about 
these  meteors,  and  what  relation  they  hold  to 
stars. 

When  the  little  child  said  she  thought  the 
Stars  -were  playing  u peep-boo"  with  her,  the 
sister  Star  said,  u  Come,  a  child  wants  to  play 
with  us."  And  those  beautiful  Stars  took  hold 
of  hands,  and  ran  down  a  wide  path  in  such  a 


PEEP  STARt    STAR  PEEP!  45 

hurry,  their  white  dresses  and  silver  sashes 
fluttering  about  them,  that  to  the  little  child 
looking  at  them  they  seemed  like  a  snowy 
ribbon  unrolled  across  the  sky,  and  she  cried 
out,  UO  mamma!  I  see  a  pretty  white  sash- 
and,  mamma,  mamma,  it  has  little  silver  stars 
all  broidered  on  it;  do  you  think  it  is  for  some 
lady  Star  to  wear  to  a  party  P" 

Then  the  Stars  laughed  with  glee,  till  the 
moon  held  up  her  fingers  for  them  to  listen  to 
what  a  little  boy,  half-way  across  the  world, 
was  saying.  He  was  talking  to  his  papa;  and 
when  he  saw  all  the  Stars  crowding  down  that 
bright  path,  he  said,  - 

uPapa,  I  think  those  Stars  are  having  a  fine 
coasting  party." 

The  little  boy^s  papa  and  the  little  girPs 
mamma  said,- 

u  I  am  glad  the  sky  Father  is  the  earth  Father, 
too,  and  that  the  little  Stars  are  just  as  well 
cared  for  as  our  children  and  ourselves." 

When  the  Stars  saw  the  sun  coming  to  put 
them  to  bed,  the  Moon  and  all  her  family  knelt 
down,  just  where  they  were,  some  in  the  garden 
path,  and  some  on  their  cloud  beds,  and  told  the 
sky  Father  how  glad  they  were  that  He  could 


16  GEANDMA  KAOLINE. 

take  good  care  of  Stars  as  well  as  of  the   dear 
little  children  in  the  under  world.- 

And  they  went  to  sleep  up  there  just  as  the 
children  and  birds  were  waking  here. 

GRANDMA  KAOLINE. 

(Illustrate   with  a   little   old  woman   made   of  clay.) 

1  have  somebody  under  my  handkerchief  to 
introduce  to  you.  It  is  a  very  little,  very  old 
lady.  I  will  go  around  and  introduce  all  the 
quiet,  polite  children  to  her.  u  Johnny  Jones, 
this  is  Grandma  Kaoline." 

(Grandma   Kaoline   can   be    made    to   bow  by  bending   the   finger 
upon   which   she   sits.) 

You  will  see  that  Grandma  Kaoline  is  made 
of  clay.  I  am  going  to  tell  you  a  strange  and 
wonderful  story  about  Grandma  Kaoline. 

The  clay  of  which  she  is  made  was  found 
down  in  the  ground,  in  what  people  call  a  clay 
bed,  or  clay  bank ;  sometimes  it  is  called  a  clay 
mine.  Grandma  Kaoline  is  so  very,  very  old, 
that  while  we  talk  about  the  clay,  we  "will  let 
her  take  a  nap  under  my  handkerchief —  per- 
haps she  will  like  that  as  well  as  some  longer 


GRANDMA  KAOLINE,  47 

naps  she  has  had  in  her  other  bed,  Tinder- 
ground. 

Thousands  of  years  ago,  when  the  earth  was 
very  young  — yes,  millions  of  years  ago,  before 
little  children  came  to  live  upon  this  beautiful 
earth,  even  before  the  earth  had  grown  so  beau- 
tiful, there  was  no  clay  here  with  which 
to  make  pretty  things. 

If  Grandma  Kaoline  could  take  you  by  the 
hand,  and  lead  you  back  to  that  time,  the 
world  would  look  so  strange  to  you,  that  you 
would  cry  to  come  back  to  kindergarten. 
Grandma  Kaoline  could  show  you  nothing  but 
great  rocks  and  oceans,  with  a  few  rivers  of 
water.  There  were  no  birds,  nor  trees,  nor 
flowers  anywhere  on  the  whole  earth.  The 
Careful  Gardener  had  not  made  them  yet,  but 
He  knew  He  should  send  some  little  children 
to  live  here  some  day,  and  there  -were  many 
things  to  be  made  for  them,  one  of  which 
was  this  clay.  Great  rocks  were  thrown  up 
into  the  air  by  earthquakes ;  they  were  tossed 
into  the  rivers  by  winds;  they  were  pushed 
and  knocked  together  until  they  became 
smooth  as  glass  p  then  they  were  thrown  into 
the  air  as  if  a  giant  were  playing  ball  with 


48  GRANDMA   KAOLINE. 

them,  and  their  smooth  sides  hroken  until 
rough  again. 

They  were  rolled  down  mountains,  and 
washed  in  rivers,  until  they  were  ground  to 
powder,  finer  than  flour. 

This  fine  powder,  ground  from  the  granite 
rocks,  was  carried  by  the  water  into  low  places 
in  the  earth,  and  then  it  was  laid  to  rest  in 
cool,  dark  beds  while  something  else  was  done 
by  the  Gardener  who  took  care  of  everything. 

I  cannot  tell  you  all  that  was  done  for  us 
before  we  came ;  but  you  shall  hear  of  more 
wonderful  things  than  this  at  another  time ; 
now  we  are  only  to  talk  about  the  powdered 
stones  which  lay  in  the  cool,  dark,  damp  beds 
thousands  of  years,  becoming  clay  at  last,  in- 
stead of  stone. 

(Show   them   a   bit   of  granite.) 

Do  you  think  we  could  make  this  hard 
stone  into  soft  clay? 

Was  it  not  kind  of  the  Gardener  to  do  for 
us  what  we  could  not  do  ourselves  ? 


GRANDMA   KAOLINE'S  STORY.  49 


GRANDMA  KAOLINE'S   STORY. 

I  have  told  you  a  story  about  Grandma 
Kaoline,  and  now  Grandma  Kaolin  e  may  tell 
you  a  story  about  herself.  We  will  play  that 
Grandma  Kaoline  can  talk,  and  you  may  listen 
to  her.  I  think  these  little  children  will  learn 
to  listen  to  the  stories  that  the  flowers  and 
rocks,  the  grass  and  shells,  have  to  tell. 

(If    the    teacher   thinks    best,    she    can    imitate    the   voice    of    an 

old   woman.) 

uOnce  I  lay  in  a  bed  which  was  larger  than 
your  crib,  larger  than  your  mothers  bed, 
larger  than  this  house;  yes,  larger  than  the 
whole  city  of  Boston. 

lMy  bed  was  down  under  the  water,  and  I 
wondered  what  would  ever  be  done  with  it. 
I  wondered  a  great  many  years,  and  all  the 
time  I  was  wondering,  the  bed  was  growing 
larger;  until  one  day  it  -was  pushed  up  out  of 
the  water,  and  lay  in  the  sweet  sunshine— ,to 
air,  I  supposed. 

"It  was  lying  there,  so  soft  and  cool  and 
smooth,  when  some  strange  looking  people 
came  along.  They  -were  not  riding  in  car- 


50  GRANDMA   KAOLINE'S  STORY. 

riages;  for  they  had  not  yet  learned  to  make 
carriages.  They  were  not  riding  on  horses ;  for 
they  had  not  yet  learned  to  tame  the  horses, 
which  were  wilder  than  any  untamed  horse 
you  ever  saw.  They  were  all  walking.  Their 
feet  were  bare ;  for  they  had  not  yet  learned  to 
make  shoes  for  themselves.  They  wore  but  few 
clothes,  and  what  they  did  wear  were  made  of 
the  skins  of  animals ;  for  they  had  not  yet 
learned  to  make  cloth. 

uThey  were  thirsty,  but  they  had  no  dishes 
from  which  to  drink  ;  for  they  had  not  yet 
learned  to  make  dishes.  So  they  dipped  their 
hands  in  the  pools,  and  drank  from  the  little 
cup  which  we  can  all  make  in  the  palms  of 
our  hands. 

UA  very  pretty  "woman  with  a  very  pretty 
baby  made  a  cup  for  the  baby  from  a  large 
leaf.  While  she  was  getting  the  leaf,  she  left 
the  baby  standing  on  the  cool  bed  of  clay ; 
and  when  she  came  back  to  take  him  up, 
there  were  the  prints  of  his  two  pretty  feet, 
with  each  little  toe  as  perfect  as  could  be. 
The  woman  looked  at  the  little  cups  made 
by  the  pretty  baby  feet ;  then  she  kissed  the 
dimpled  feet,  tossed  the  baby  over  her  shoul- 


GRANDMA   KAOLINE'S  STORY.  51 

der,  and  went  with  the  other  people,  who 
wandered  around  the  country,  not  knowing 
how  to  do  much  of  anything,  but  learning  a 
little  every  day. 

u  After  a  long  time  these  same  people  came 
back  to  the  same  place  where  the  baby  had 
stood  in  the  clay  bed,  and  what  do  you  sup- 
pose the  baby^s  mother  saw?  The  two  little 
cups  made  by  baby  feet  had  become  quite  firm 
and  hard  in  the  sunshine;  and  baby's  father 
and  mother  both  shouted,  cLook!  look!  Why 
can  we  not  make  dishes  from  this  stuff  ? '  The 
people  ran  like  children,  filled  their  hands  with 
the  soft  clay,  and  made  deep  dishes,  like  vases, 
in  which  they  could  keep  their  seeds  and  grain ; 
for  they  soon  learned  that  water  would  make 
their  new  dishes  crumble  in  pieces.  After  a 
long,  long  time  somebody  threw  an  old  vase 
into  the  fire  — the  fires,  you  must  know,  were 
built  upon  the  ground;  for  the  people  had  not 
yet  learned  to  make  stoves,  nor  had  they 
learned  how  to  make  matches.  It  was  there- 
fore so  hard  to  kindle  a  fire,  when  it  went  out, 
that  they  took  great  pains  to  keep  one  burn- 
ing as  long  as  they  stayed  in  a  place;  and  it 
was  in  one  of  these  fires  which  burned  many 


52  GRANDMA   KAOLINE'S  STORY. 

days  that  the  old  vase  was  thrown.  You  will 
see  that  the  vase  must  have  been  well  baked 
before  the  people  went  away  to  learn  some- 
thing else  in  their  wanderings ;  but,  not  know- 
ing that  a  baked  vase  was  any  better  than  an 
unbaked  one,  they  left  it  in  the  ashes. 

u  After  a  very  long  time  they  came  again  to 
this  place,  having  learned  how  to  take  better 
care  of  their  babies,  and  to  make  better  things 
for  their  own  dinners.  Somebody  picked  up 
the  vase  from  the  ashes,  and  found  that  it  was 
very  hard  and  smooth.  They  poured  some 
water  in  it,  and  the  water  did  not  make  it 
crumble  ;  then  they  knew  they  could  make 
dishes  by  baking  the  clay  in  a  very  hot  fire, 
and  they  danced  and  shouted  for  joy  that 
dishes  could  be  made  to  hold  milk  and  water. 

u  They  built  great  fires,  and  made  more 
dishes  than  they  could  use ;  they  amused 
themselves  by  making  pictures  on  the  un- 
baked dishes,  with  sharp  sticks.  These  pic- 
tures would  remain,  of  course :  sometimes  we 
find  one  of  those  old  dishes  now.  After  many 
hundred  years  they  learned  to  make  China 
cups  and  saucers.  They  learned  many  other 
useful  things  ;  so  that  now  we,  who  are  their 


THE  WALNUT  TREE  THAT  BORE  TULIPS.         53 

great  -  great  -  great  -  great  -  great  -  great  -  grandchil- 
dren, live  in  good  houses,  have  good  clothes 
and  good  food,  and  are  still  learning  how  to 
use  the  things  which  the  Careful  Gardener  has 
placed  here  for  us." 

(An  impression  strongly  resembling  a  baby's  foot  can  be  made 
in  the  clay  by  doubling  the  hand  and  pressing  the  inside  of  the 
fist  into  the  clay,  the  toes  being  added  by  indenting  with  the 
fingers.  Showing  these  cups  to  the  children  increases  their 
interest  in  the  subject ;  and  firing  some  of  their  best  work, 
which  can  be  done  at  trifling  expense,  will  give  them  a  living 
interest  in,  and  knowledge  of  pottery.) 

THE  WALNUT  TREE   THAT   BORE   TULIPS. 

The  Tulips  carved  from  the  heart  of  the 
patient  Walnut  tree  adorned  the  temple  for 
which  they  were  fashioned  more  years  than 
the  Tree  had  struggled  with  the  storms  of  its 
old  life. 

The  carved  petals  grew  darker  with  age, 
and  the  Walnufs  heart  of  hearts  became  more 
peaceful  with  u  self-devotion  and  with  self- 
restraint." 

One  Easter  day,  the  altar  was  adorned  with 
living  Tulips  whose  hearts  were  aflame  with 


54          THE  WALNUT  TREE  THAT  BORE  TULIPS. 

life  and  love ;  the  cup  of  a  splendid  black  Tulip 
was  lifted  to  touch  the  dark  wood  of  the 
carved  altar,  and  the  heart  of  the  old  Walnut 
throbbed  with  a  divine  discontent  which  was 
so  softened  by  divine  patience  that  it  hardly 
knew  it  sang: 

"  Father,  I'm  waiting  yet, 
Hoping  thou'lt  not  forget. 
Others  I  strive  to  bless, 
Asking  no  happiness 
But  what  thou  wilt. 
Carven  and  still  I  stand, 
My  life  in  thy  dear  hand." 

Thus  it  poured  out  its  melody  while  the 
people  worshipped,  and  when  a  misplaced 
candle  set  fire  to  the  altar  draperies,  and  the 
great  cathedral  shrivelled  and  crackled  in  the 
flamos,  the  Walnut  yielded  its  Tulips  to  the 
elements  without  fear,  almost  without  hope, 
but  with  an  infinite  satisfaction  in  having 
given  itself  bravely  and  uncomplainingly  to 
the  Fathers  great  plans,  which  must  include 
a  higher  happiness  for  somebody  than  the 
heart  of  a  Walnut  could  devise  or  perhaps 
even  hold. 


THE  WALNUT  TREE  THAT  BORE  TULIPS.          55 

The  ashes  of  the  Walnut  tree  lay  white  and 
ghastly  upon  the  charred  earth ;  the  dew  gath- 
ered upon  them,  and  the  rain  beat  them  deeper 
and  deeper  into  the  pitiless  dust.  At  first  they 
lay  in  the  form  of  the  Tulips,  but  the  wind 
soon  whirled  the  pale  petal-shaped  mass  into 
pathetic  shapelessness,  and  there  lay  the  heart 
of  the  Walnut,  forgotten  of  all  but  the  unfor- 
gettirig  Father. 

They  yielded  themselves  now  to  winter's 
frost  and  summers  heat  with  no  will  but  to 
suffer,  and  no  hope  but  to  bless  unknown 
lives  in  His  way,  though  only  by  enriching 
the  earth  for  other  blossoms. 

A  gardener  passed  that  way,  and  like  the 
woodman  of  old,  selected  that  which  best 
served  his  purpose  —  the  self-prepared  earth. 
A  Tulip  bulb  was  buried  in  this  fruitful  soil, 
and  by  the  beautiful  chemistry  of  nature,  the 
Walnut  tree  found  its  carved,  burned,  and 
storm-beaten  heart  transformed  into  the  living 
beauty  of  a  magnificent  black  Tulip. 

Is  not  this  enough  ?  —  a  hundred  years  of 
growth ;  a  struggle  with  storms ;  a  final  fall 
beneath  the  woodman's  axe ;  the  sharp  instru- 
ments of  the  "wood  carver;  the  adorning  of 


56  STORY  OF  BERNARD   PALISSY. 

the  temple ;  after  which  the  flame  and  the 
frost ;  the  loss  of  identity  except  to  the 
Father ;  burial  and  final  resurrection  for  one 
week  of  bloom  in  the  color  and  form  of  a 
Tulip  ? 

!N"ay;  it  is  not  enough,  and  the  bright  Tulip 
lifts  its  chalice,  heart  of  Tulip  answering  to 
heart  of  child : 

u There  is  no  death;  there  is  only  change. 
Live  for  others  "while  you  keep  your  own  good 
purpose  unchanged  as  the  unchanging  Father's 
love ;  forget  selfish  aims,  yielding  your  life  to 
wiser  plans  than  any  you  can.  imagine  —  and 
like  the  Walnut  tree,  you  will  find  at  length 
a  joy  too  deep  for  any  language  but  that  of 
blooming  in  sweet  and  sacred  silence." 


STORY  OF  BERNARD   PALISSY. 

The  people  had  used  vases  and  urns,  orna- 
mented with  pictures  scratched  in  the  soft 
clay,  a  great  many  years  before  they  learned 
to  make  cups  with  the  beautiful  shining 
enamel  which  you  now  see  every  day ;  and 
although  men  in  Egypt  and  Italy  had  made 


8TOEY  OF  BERNARD   PALISSY.  57 

dishes  with  pictures  in  all  colors  upon  them, 
110  one  in  France  knew  how  to  do  it  until 
about  four  hundred  years  ago,  when  Bernard 
Palissy  saw  a  china  cup  with  a  shining  surface 
upon  which  were  painted  flowers  that  could 
not  he  rubbed  off.  He  had  learned  of  his 
father  to  paint  glass,  and  he  was  a  patient 
man  who  loved  dearly  to  do  hard  tasks ;  had 
he  been  in  a  kindergarten  when  a  little  boy, 
he  would  never  have  given  up  trying  to  weave 
a  mat  until  he  could  do  it  as  well  as  anybody. 

You  shall  hear  how  long  and  patiently  he 
tried  to  learn  to  enamel  china. 

First  of  all  he  had  to  go  to  a  potter  and 
learn  how  to  make  clay  cups  from  the  begin- 
ning. He  said  to  himself,  UI  will  make  as  pretty 
cups  in  France  as  have  been  made  in  Italy."  So 
he  made  some  as  smooth  as  glass  and  brushed 
them  with  something  which  he  thought  would 
shine,  and  painted  pretty  designs  upon  them 
and  put  them  in  the  great  ovens.  They  came 
out  rough  and  spoiled  by  the  heat.  Bernard 
Palissy  did  not  cry,  nor  ask  somebody  to 
help  him,  but  he  used  another  kind  of  paste 
and  paint ;  the  green  color  turned  brown  in 
the  heat,  and  the  pink  roses  came  out  of  the 


58  STORY  OF  BERNARD  PALISSY. 

oven  looking  like  withered  leaves,  and  he  said, 
u  At  least  I  have  learned  how  to  produce  brown 
colors ;  I  shall  yet  learn  what  to  put  on  my 
cups  that  will  turn  pink  and  blue  in  the  heat.'0 

He  tried  one  year,  two  years,  three  years, 
four  years,  five  years,  but  his  dishes  were  not 
yet  smooth,  nor  his  colors  correct. 

Bernard  Palissy  had  spent  nearly  all  the 
money  he  had  saved  while  painting  glass  for 
his  father,  but  he  was  not  discouraged. 

He  made  more  dishes,  and  tried  another  way 
which  was  nearer  right  than  anything  he  had 
yet  done  ;  so  he  was  pleased  and  worked 
another  year  and  another,  until  ten  years  had 
passed,  and  his  money  was  all  gone. 

He  sold  his  watch  and  his  Sunday  clothes 
to  get  money  to  buy  new  paints  and  glazing 
material.  At  last  he  had  only  rags  to  wear, 
and  crusts  of  bread  to  eat,  and  alas!  he  had 
no  more  wood  or  coal  with  which  to  fire  his 
china.  And  he  thought  he  had  found  the 
right  colors  and  combinations.  What  could  he 
do? 

He  said :  u  I  can  sleep  on  the  floor,  and  I 
have  no  time  to  sit  in  chairs ;  as  for  my  table, 
T  have  so  little  food  to  put  on  it  that  I  can 


STORY  OF  BERNARD  PALISSY.  59 

get  along  without  that  too,  and  I  need  nothing 
in  the  world  so  much  as  one  large  fire  for  this 
china."  So  he  put  all  his  furniture  that  was 
made  of  wood  into  the  furnace.  He  had  been 
trying  sixteen  years  now,  and  he  could  hardly 
sleep  for  fear  of  another  failure,  but  when  he 
drew  the  dainty  dishes  out  of  the  ovens  —  hur- 
rah !  hurrah!  they  were  perfect!  He  sent  a 
beautiful  plate  to  Queen  Catherine  de  Medicis 
with  a  message  that  it  was  made  in  France  by 
a  Frenchman  who  wished  to  present  it  to  her. 
She  was  so  much  pleased  that  she  gave  Ber- 
nard Palissy  money  for  other  dishes,  and  he 
was  able  after  that  to  work  at  the  beautiful 
art  "without  any  more  fear  of  hunger  or  cold, 
and  at  last  he  was  invited  to  Paris  to  the 
palace  of  the  king,  where  people  loved  and 
honored  him  because  he  had  had  the  courage 
to  try  sixteen  years  to  do  a  bit  of  hard  work. 


60  WINTER   PRAYER. 


WINTER   PRAYER 


Loving  Friend,  oh,  hear  our  prayer! 

Take  into  Thy  tender  care 

All  the  leaves  and  flowers  that  sleep 

In  their  white  beds,  covered  deep ; 

Shelter  from  the  "wintry  storm 

All  Thy  snow-birds ;  keep  them  warm. 


n. 

Help  me  in  my  heart  to  thank  Thee ; 
Help  me  with  my  lips  to  praise  Thee ; 
May  I  to  each  playmate  be 
Kind,  as  Thou  hast  been  to  me. 


TWO  PICTURES.  01 


TWO   PICTURES. 

In  a  far  away  land  there  is  a 
great  city;  in  that  great  city 
there  is  a  long  street;  in  that  long 
street  there  is  a  large  house;  in 
that  large  house  there  is  a  pretty 
room;  in  that  pretty  room  there 
is  a  small  crib;  in  that  small  crib 
there  is  a  snow  "white  blanket ;  in 
that  snow  white  blanket  there  is 
a  sweet,  new-  -BABY. 

AND 

In  a  far  away  country  there  is 
a  great  forest;  in  the  midst  of  the 
great  forest  there  is  a  tall  tree; 
on  that  tall  tree  there  are  swing- 
ing branches;  in  those  swinging 


62  A   LEGEND   OF  THE  GEE  AT  I)  IP  PEE. 

branches  there  is  a  little  nest;  in 
the  little  nest  there  is  a  white  egg; 
in  the  white  egg  a  young  bird  is 
saying  'pip-pip,"  and  the  mother 
bird  knows  that  is  a  call  for  help, 
and  she  is  ready  to  take  the  young 
bird  from  the  shell,  and  sing  it  a 
song  of  joy  and  gladness. 

A    LEGEND    OF    THE    GREAT    DIPPER 

The  faces  of  the  Stars  shone  so  brightly  one 
night,  that  the  earth  children  thought  the 
Mamma  Moon  was  telling  a  pretty  story.  And 
so  she  was ;  and  this  is  the  story : 

The  Great  Dipper,  which  you,  my  dear 
children,  so  love  to  form,  has  a  deep  meaning, 
which  you  are  not  to  forget  as  long  as  the 
Stars  shine.  I  tell  you  the  story  as  often  as 
you  ask  it,  and  your  asking  makes  me  quite 
as  happy  as  my  telling  can  make  you. 


A   LEGEND  OF  THE  GREAT  DIPPER. 


63 


See  the  dear  baby  Stars  running  to  make 
a  small  dipper,  like  their  older  sisters !  said 
the  Lady  Moon  softly  to  the  great  Mars,  "who 
bent  over  her  chair  as  she  spoke. 


In  another  world  than  ours,  continued  the 
Lady  Moon,  there  was  once  a  great  trouble 
and  sorrow.  !N~o ;  it  was  not  in  the  earth 
world,  my  dear,  she  said  to  a  tiny  Star  who 
always  asked  questions ;  it  was  not  in  the 
Heaven  world  either,  but  in  another  far  away 


64  A   LEGEND   OF  THE  GEE  AT  DIPPER. 

world,  where  many  children  lived.  For  some 
good  reason,  which  only  the  Father  knows,  the 
people  and  children,  the  animals,  and  every 
living  thing,  were  suffering  great  thirst ;  no 
water,  nor  dew,  nor  drop  of  moisture,  could 
they  find  anywhere. 

It  was  very  horrible,  and  the  people  were 
very  near  death. 

A  little  child  of  that  world  went  out  alone 
in  the  dry,  dark  night,  carrying  a  small  tin 
dipper,  and  prayed  very  earnestly  for  just  that 
little  cup  of  water ;  and  when  she  lifted  the 
cup,  it  was  brimming  with  clear,  cold  water, 
which  would  not  spill,  though  she  ran  rapidly, 
her  hand  trembling  with  her  faintness ;  for  she 
did  not  taste  the  water,  having  prayed  for 
another^s  need.  As  she  ran,  she  stumbled  and 
fell,  for  she  was  very  weak  ;  and  when  feeling 
about,  trying  to  rise,  she  touched  a  little  dog 
that  seemed  to  be  dying  of  its  thirst,  and  the 
good  child  poured  a  few  drops  of  the  precious 
water  in  the  palm  of  her  hand,  and  let  the 
dog  lap  it.  He  seemed  as  much  refreshed  as 
if  he  had  drank  from  a  river. 

The  child  could  not  see  -what  happened  to 
her  cup  ;  but  we  saw,  and  sang  for  joy.  The 


A   LEGEND   OF  THE  GREAT  DIPPER.  65 

cup  turned  to  silver,  and  grew  larger,  the  water 
not  having  become  less,  but  more,  by  her 
giving- 

She  hurried  on  to  give  the  "water  to  one 
who  was  quite  unable  to  come  to  meet  her, - 
none  other  than  her  own  dear  mamma,  who 
took  the  water  eagerly,  as  one  in  a  deadly  fever 
of  thirst,  but  without  putting  it  to  her  lips ; 
for  she  heard  just  then  a  weak  moan,  which 
came  from  her  faithful  servant,  who  tried 
to  raise  her  mistresses  head,  but  found  she 
had  not  the  strength.  The  mother  pressed 
the  dipper  into  the  hands  of  the  maid,  and 
bade  her  drink,  feeling  her  own  life  so  wasted 
that  one  little  cup  of  water  could  not  renew 
it.  And  neither  maid  servant  nor  mistress 
noticed  that  the  dipper  changed  from  silver  to 
gold,  and  grew  larger  than  before.  The  good 
servant  was  about  to  give  each  member  of  the 
family  one  spoonful  of  the  precious  "water, 
when,  a  Stranger  entered,  dressed  in  a  costume 
unknown  in  that  country,  and  speaking  in  a 
strange  tongue,  but  showing  the  same  signs  of 
thirst  and  distress  as  themselves.  The  maid 
servant  said,  u  Sacred  are  the  needs  of  the 
Stranger  in  a  strange  land,"  and  pressed  the 


66  A   LEGEND   OF  THE  GEE  AT  DIPPER. 

dipper  to  the  parched  lips  of  the  fainting 
man. 

Then  the  great  wonder  was  wrought !  and 
the  golden  dipper  flashed  forth  incrusted  with 
the  most  precious  diamonds,  containing  a  foun- 
tain of  gushing  water,  which  supplied  the 
thirsting  nation  as  freely  and  surely  as  it  had 
quenched  the  thirst  of  the  little  dog. 

And  the  Stranger  stood  before  them  a  glo- 
rious, radiant  Being ;  and  as  he  faded  from 
their  sight,  a  silver  trumpet  tone  was  heard  to 
proclaim : 

u  Blessed  is  he  that  giveth  a  cup  of  "water 
in  My  name." 

And  the  possession  of  a  dipper  blazing  with 
diamonds  is,  in  that  country,  a  sure  badge  of 
royalty ;  for  no  one  can  buy  or  receive  one  as 
a  gift,  nor  can  fathers  bequeath  them  to  chil- 
dren. 

Each  child  is  given  a  tin  dipper  at  its 
birth,  and  only  by  purely  unselfish  acts  can 
the  diamond  one  be  -wrought. 

Some  of  the  foolish  people  have  not  yet 
learned  its  secret,  and  they  go  about  trying 
to  exchange  their  tin  for  silver,  by  doing  kind 
things.  Sometimes  they  accuse  the  Father  of 


A   LEGEND   OF  THE  GEE  AT  DIPPER.  67 

All  very  bitterly,  because  they  grow  old  pos- 
sessing only  the  tin  dipper;  for  the  secret  of 
the  exchange  can  no  more  be  told  than  the 
beautiful,  flashing,  sparkling  diamonds  can  be 
purchased. 

Sometimes  there  are  great  surprises,  when 
people  give  up  the  hope  of  such  a  possession, 
and  forget  themselves ;  for  then  they  often  find 
the  cast  away  tin  bearing  evidence  in  silver, 
gold,  or  even  diamonds,  that  they  have  be- 
come royal ;  but  by  that  time  they  have  no 
vanity  because  of  their  fortune.  Only  modest, 
thankful,  brave,  happy  feelings  possess  the 
owners  of  diamond  dippers. 

The  Lady  Moon  now  lifted  a  white  finger 
toward  the  east,  which  was  growing  rosy,  and 
the  baby  Stars  all  knelt  a  moment,  looking  like 
white  robed  nuns  at  prayers. 

Then  the  morning  wind  swept  aside  the 
great  blue  silken  curtain  of  the  sky,  and  the 
Mamma  Moon  followed  her  children  into 
Heaven,  to  do  or  play  whatever  the  Father 
had  planned  for  them  while  they  were  out 
shining  for  His  earth  children. 


68  THE  LITTLE  BOY  IN  OUR  HOUSE. 

THE    LITTLE    BOY  IN   OUR  HOUSE. 

There  is  a  little  boy  in  our 
house. 

There  is  a  coat,  for  the  little  boy 
in  our  house. 

There  is  a  tailor  who  makes  the 
coat,  for  the  little  boy  in  our  house. 

There  is  a  weaver  who  weaves 
the  cloth,  from  which  the  tailor 
makes  the  coat,  for  the  little  boy 
in  our  house. 

There  is  a  spinner  who  spins 
the  thread,  from  which  the  "weaver 
weaves  the  cloth,  from  which  the 
tailor  cuts  the  coat,  for  the  little 
boy  in  our  house. 

There  is  a  sheep  that  gives  the 


IDDLY  BUNG'S  APRIL  CHRISTMAS  TREE.         69 

wool,  from  which  the  spinner 
spins  the  thread,  from  which  the 
weaver  weaves  the  cloth,  from 
which  the  tailor  makes  the  coat, 
for  the  little  boy  in  our  house. 

.» 

IDDLY   BUNG'S   APRIL    CHRISTMAS    TREE. 

Of  course  his  real  name  was  not  Tddly 
Bung;  but  that  was  what  he  called  himself 
when  he  tried  to  say  u  Little  Ben,"  in  answer 
to  the  oft  repeated  question,  u  What  is  your 
name,  little  man  ? "  For  no  one  passed  the 
house  in  the  outskirts  of  a  Georgian  city 
without  noticing  the  great  eyed,  small  bodied 
child  who  carried  bundles  of  sticks,  or  buckets 
of  water  —  the  latter  making  him  look  like  some 
strange  animal  with  one  broad  ear  standing  up- 
right; for  the  bucket  was  not  a  bucket,  neither 
was  it  a  pail,  but  a  piggin  which  he  carried  on 
his  head.  If  you  were  to  tell  Ben  that  a  pig- 
gin,  according  to  Webster.,  is  a  wooden  dipper, 
Ben  would  laugh  at  you,  and  ask  if  folks  didn^t 


70         IDDLY  BUNG'S  APRIL   CHRISTMAS  TREE. 

milk  into  piggins.  If  you  said  they  did,  he 
would  say,  u  Well,  folks  dorft  milk  into 
dippers,  do  they  ? "  If  you  did  not  agree 
that  therefore  a  piggin  is  no  dipper,  Ben 
would  go  about  his  work  thinking  what  must 
be  done  to-morrow  before  usun  up,"— that  be- 
ing what  he  called  sunrise,  —  refusing  to  dis- 
cuss a  question  that  seemed  to  him  to  have 
but  one  side. 

Ben  was  a  poor  boy  who  tried  to  do  all  he 
could  for  his  mother,  who  went  out  to  sew. 
As  he  was  alone  most  of  the  time,  he  did  not 
learn  to  talk  plainly,  as  boys  do  who  play 
much  with  other  children. 

In  the  morning  he  would  creep  quietly  out 
of  bed,  look  lovingly  at  his  mother,  wishing 
it  would  not  waken  her  to  ulove"  her  just  a 
little.  Ben  had  never  learned  that  there  was 
any  love  but  that  expressed  by  hugging,  pat- 
ting, and  kissing.  So  he  would  deny  himself 
until  the  fire  was  made,  and  the  kettle  placed 
over  it,  when  he  would  kiss  his  mothers  eyes 
open;  for  she  had  let  him  think  that  they 
could  not  open  until  his  lips  unlocked  them. 
Sometimes  he  would  open  one  of  them  with 
kisses,  and  playfully  threaten  to  keep  the 


IDDLY  BUNG'S  APRIL   CHRISTMAS   TREE.         71 

other  shut  all  day;  and  there  would  be  great 
glee  when  the  eyelid  was  unsealed  with  the 
precious  kiss. 

One  April  day,  after  the  trees  were  quite 
green  with  leaves,  the  mountain  brooks  fringed 
with  the  sweet  wild  jessamine,  and  even  the 
laurel  had  hung  out  its  waxen  sprays  of  pink 
and  "white  blossoms  to  tell  us  it  was  too  late 
to  look  for  arbutus,  Captain  Jennings  started 
on  horseback  to  look  at  the  mountain  streams, 
and  learn  if  it  were  true  that  there  was  danger 
of  a  flood. 

Sometimes  the  lovely  valley  land  in  Georgia 
is  overflowed  very  suddenly ;  for  the  snow  high 
up  in  the  mountains  melts,  and  rushes  down  to 
the  rivers  faster  than  the  rivers  can  run  to  the 
ocean.  Then  there  is  what  they  call  a  u  back- 
water ";  that  is,  the  water  is  crowded  back,  and 
spreads  through  the  valley,  covering  houses  and 
sometimes  drowning  people.  Captain  Jennings 
was  alone;  and,  as  he  galloped  out  into  the 
open  country,  he  saw  a  little  boy  riding  a  stick 
the  same  way  in  which  he  was  going.  The 
child  looked  so  much  like  his  little  sister  of 
thirty  years  ago  that  he  stopped,  and  asked 
him  how  he  would  like  to  trade  horses.  The 


72         IDDLY  BUNG'S  APRIL  CHRISTMAS  TREE. 

boy  was  Ben;  and,  looking  wishfully  at  the 
gay  horse  and  handsome  rider,  thinking  that 
he  had  never  been  on  a  real  horse,  and  remem- 
bering what  his  mother  had  told  him  about 
the  Good  Friend  who  never  made  fun  of  peo- 
ple, he  said  boldly,  with  tears  flashing  in  his 
great  eyes,  UI  fought  you  was  Dod;  but  he 
wouldn^t  make  fun  of  me  and  my  sossy" 
(horse).  Captain  Jennings  felt  sad,  for  he  did 
not  mean  to  make  fun  of  Ben;  and,  thinking 
of  the  little  sister,  whose  eyes  used  so  easily 
to  fill  with  tears,  he  said  kindly:  "I  did  not 
mean  to  make  fun  of  you,  my  boy.  Trill  you 
ride  with  me  on  this  horse  P  "  u  AVhen  will 
you  birig  me  bat  ?  "  u  Before  sundown  ;  jump 
up,  little  one."  And  Ben  was  on  a  live,  pranc- 
ing horse  instead  of  a  stick. 

They  rode  through  thickets  of  oak,  and  Ben 
stripped  the  leaves  as  they  flew  past,  and  flung 
them  to  the  wind,  which  seemed  to  him  to 
meet  them  everywhere,  just  to  catch  his  leaves 
and  toss  his  hair.  They  scared  up  partridges, 
that  whirred  about  with  much  ado,  and  sat 
down  again  while  Ben  was  still  in  sight. 
What  "wonderland  was  this  to  little  Ben,  who 
had  never  before  been  three  miles  from  home! 


11)DLY  BUNG'S  APRIL   CHRISTMAS  TREE.         73 

At  last  Ben  saw  something  which  made  him 
cry  softly,  u  Please  stop ;  there  is  DocPs  own, 
own  Trismas  tree  !  "  Captain  Jennings  stopped 
his  horse,  and  looked ;  there  stood  a  tree,  forty 
feet  high,  with  long  leaves  with  fretted  edges 
that  looked  like  emerald  jewels,  and  tapers 
that  held  within  them  such  soft,  mellow  light 
as  never  "waxen  tapers  dreamed  of  shedding. 
Captein  Jennings  took  off  his  hat,  while  Ben 
asked  if  they  could  not  "wait  for  the  angels 
who  lighted  the  candles  to  come  back.  You 
do  not  believe  they  saw  any  such  thing  ?  If 
you  never  saw  a  horse-chestnut  tree  in  bloom, 
you  may  well  think  this  an  untrue  story ;  but 
if  you  have  seen  one,  you  will  not  wonder 
that  little  Ben  thought  it  uDod^s  own,  own 
Trismas  tree."  Ben  asked  Captain  Jennings  if 
he  thought  the  angels  would  care  if  he  took  a 
branch  "with  just  two  candles  to  his  mother. 

What  a  happy  boy  was  he,  when  he  had  the 
branch  in  his  hand !  He  hugged  it  to  his 
breast,  and  kissed  the  candle,  which  he  was 
sure  the  angels  had  but  just  touched. 

Captain  Jennings  had  made  up  his  mind 
that  there  was  great  danger  of  a  flood,  and  he 
galloped  home  so  fast  that  Ben  could  not 


74        IDDLY  BUNG'S  APRIL   CHRISTMAS  TREE. 

catch  a  leaf  of  the  trees  that  brushed  his  face 
as  they  hurried  onward.  They  were  soon  at 
Ben^s  door,  and  Captain  Jennings  dropped  Ben 
quickly  to  the  ground,  and  spurred  his  horse 
to  a  gallop,— thinking,  as  he- did  so,  that  this 
house  of  Ben^s  stood  on  low  ground,  but  soon 
forgetting  it  in  anxious  work  for  the  safety  of 
the  town. 

After  working  until  late  in  the  evening, 
Captain  Jennings  went  to  bed,  leaving  a  boat 
chained  to  his  window,  and  was  soon  asleep. 
Later  in  the  night  he  was  "wakened  by  the 
steady,  heavy  patter,  patter,  patter,  of  rain 
upon  his  windows.  He  rose  and  looked  out ; 
there  was  darkness,  and  cloud,  and  chilling  rain 
above ;  and  below,  the  black  water  was  creep- 
ing softly  and  darkly  all  around  his  house. 

There  was  no  light  where  the  stars  some- 
times shine,  but  far  out  on  the  water  he  saw 
red  lights  from  scores  of  little  boats  that  were 
gliding  here  and  there,  taking  people  to  the 
hills,  from  houses  that  were  fast  filling  with 
water. 

Captain  Jennings  had  been  making  boats, 
and  had  laughed  at  the  grim  humor  of  a  man 
with  brush  and  paint  who  had  marked  some 


IDDLY  BUNG'S  APRIL  CHRISTMAS  TREE.         75 

boats  "The  Ark;1  and  others,  uThe  Gondola,11 
and  others,  u  Venice.11  But  now  that  the  water 
was  about  him,  and  the  darkness  covering  the 
water,  he  wondered  how  he  could  have  laughed 
when  the  sun  was  shining. 

Captain  Jennings  did  not  want  to  go  into 
all  that  cold  and  dark  which  was  outside  his 
door.  He  had  moved  upstairs,  so  he  did  not 
mind  if  the  first  floor  of  his  house  was  filled 
with  water.  Why  should  he  not  go  to  bed 
and  to  sleep  ?  It  is  not  pleasant  to  row  in  a 
heavy  rain,  to  dodge  floating  houses,  and  hear 
the  cries  of  frightened  children:  so  he  would 
go  to  bed.  But  as  his  head  sank  into  the  warm 
pillow,  he  thought  of  little  Ben  and  uDod1s 
own,  own  Trismas  tree " ;  of  the  low  ground 
on  "which  Ben's  house  stood ;  the  loneliness  of 
the  place ;  the  feelings  which  people  must  have 
who  have  no  boat  at  such  a  time ;  of  the  lost 
sister  of  whom  Ben  had  made  him  think  all 
day ;  of  that  dark  water,  crawling  with  its  soft 
plash,  higher,  higher,  higher,  until— what  if 
Ben  and  his  u  Trismas  tree11  were  left  entirely 
to  the  angels!  Who  knows  but  the  angels 
were  thus  calling  to  Captain  Jennings  to  help 
them? 


76        IDDLY  BUNG' 8  APRIL   CHRISTMAS  TREE. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  Captain  Jennings  -was  out 
in  his  boat  by  the  time  he  had  thought  all  this, 
and  was  rowing  swiftly  toward  the  little  house, 
thinking  of  little  Ben,  the  little  uTrismas  tree," 
and  the  far  away  little  sister,  who  must  be  a 
woman  now. 

As  he  came  near  the  house,  he  heard  a  glad 
cry  from  Ben,  who  had  seen  the  lantern  coming 
that  way.  Ben  and  his  mother  were  out  on  the 
house  roof,  the  water  having  nearly  reached  the 
eaves.  But  Ben,  with  the  faith  of  a  child  and 
the  courage  of  a  man,  was  assuring  his  mother 
that  help  would  come  before  they  floated  away. 
For  uof  tourse  Dod  watched  His  Trismas  tree," 
and  must  see  Ben,  who  had  a  branch  of  it  in 
his  wee  hand,  really  thinking  more  of  the 
angels  -who  lighted  the  candles  than  of  any 
present  danger. 

Of  course  they  were  taken  from  the  roof  to 
the  boat,  and  carried  to  a  place  of  safety. 

Ben  thinks  uDod^s  Trismas  tree"  saved  their 
lives.  Ben^s  mother  thinks  that  it  would  have 
been  from  no  forgetfulness  or  unkindness  of 
their  Heavenly  Father  if  their  lives  had  been 
lost.  And  Captain  Jennings  would  like  to 
know  just  how  much  the  angels  had  to  do 


A  STORY  FOE  WILLIE  WINKLE.  77 

with  that  flood  and  the  April  Christinas  tree 
and  the  finding  of  his  darling  sister,  whom 
Ben's  mother  proved  to  be. 


A   STORY   FOR   WILLIE   WINKLE. 

One  winter  night  old  North  Wind  and  little 
Jack  Frost  had  a  talk,  which  I  happened  to 
overhear. 

North  Wind  called  Jack  Frost  to  see  a  snow- 
drift which  he  had  blown  into  a  fence  corner, 
and,  with  his  gray  wing,  swept  into  curves  as 
pretty  as  one  ever  sees  anywhere  except  in  a 
little  child's  face. 

Jack  Frost  looked  and  laughed,  saying:  "I 
can  make  things  quite  as  pretty;  but  I  must 
work  in  the  water." 

North  Wind  wrapped  his  cloak  of  clouds 
about  him,  and  went  to  see  Jack  Frost  work 
in  a  stream  of  water  not  far  away. 

As  they  flew,  with  clouds  and  snow  before 
them,  Jack  Frost  peeped  in  a  window,  and 
saw  a  little  boy  sleeping. 

u  Let's  do  something  for  Willie  Winkle," 
whispered  Jack  Frost. 


78  A   8TOEY  FOR  WILLIE  WINKLE. 

" Agreed!"  shouted  North  Wind.  To  work 
they  went,  —  North  Wind  puffing  little  starry 
gems  of  snow  against  the  window  pane  out- 
side, while  Jack  Frost  fastened  them  on,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  drew  pictures  of  trees  and, 
vines  on  the  inside,  -which  -were  so  pretty  that 
North  Wind  fairly  shook  the  house,  trying  to 
get  in  to  see  them.  Jack  Frost,  fearing  all  the 
noise  of  North  Wind  would  waken  Willie  Win- 
kle, hurriedly  tasted  the  water  in  Willie's  silver 
cup,  -which  turned  the  "water  to  ice,  and  crept 
out  at  the  keyhole. 

When  North  Wind  and  Jack  Frost  reached 
the  brooklet,  they  were  talking  about  the  chil- 
dren they  had  seen  that  night ;  and  the  little 
brook  stopped  to  listen,  for  she  had  missed  the 
visits  from  the  children  for  many  a  day.  And, 
as  she  listened,  every  drop,  ripple,  and  dimple 
of  the  brooklet  turned  into  crystal,  and  stood 
still  there,  waiting  until  spring  for  the  children. 

When  North  Wind  and  Jack  Frost  passed   a 
tiny    pond,    old    North    Wind    fairly    held    his 
breath  a  moment  with  delight ;  then  he,  being 
the  older,  said,  u  Let's  work  together  this  win- 
ter." 

Agreed ! "  laughed  Jack  Frost,  from  the  tur- 


u 


A  STORY  FOR  WILLIE  WINKLE.  79 

ret  of  an  ice  palace  which  he  was  finishing. 
u  Will  you  ripple  the  top  of  this  water,  while  I 
freeze  it  ?  " 

u  That  I  will,"  answered  old  North  Wind. 
ult  will  spoil  the  skating  for  the  big  boys; 
but  well  work  for  the  little  folks  to-night." 

So  North  Wind  blew  across  the  water  till  it 
curled  and  wrinkled  and  waved  like  a  broad 
field  of  wheat  under  the  wing  of  South  Wind 
in  summer.  Jack  Frost,  following  close  upon 
the  breath  of  North  Wind,  kissed  the  ripples 
and  wrinkles,  and  there  they  stood.  The  waters 
were  all  curled  and  frozen  over  little  caves,  shin- 
ing grottoes,  and  glittering  palaces  of  ice. 

As  North  Wind  and  Jack  Frost  were  going 
home  next  morning,  they  saw  Willie  Winkle 
looking  at  the  pretty  pictures  on  his  window. 

uLet  us  speak  to  him,"  said  North  Wind. 
But  at  his  voice  the  window  rattled  and 
shook  so  noisily  that  Willie  Winkle  ran  away 
to  sit  by  the  warm  fire. 

After  breakfast  Willie  Winkle  went  again  to 
the  window;  and,  seeing  the  beautiful  drifts 
and  wreaths  and  banks  and  puffs  of  snow  in 
corners,  on  gate  posts,  and  in  tree  tops,  he 
begged  to  go  outside.  He  was  no  sooner  in 


80  A  STOEY  FOE  WILLIE  WINKLE. 

the  yard,  than  Jack  Frost  came  creeping,  and 
North  Wind  came  shouting;  and  one  pinched 
his  ears,  the  other  blew  off  his  hat.  And  such 
a  wrestling  match  as  Willie  Winkle  had  with 
them  made  even  his  mamma  laugh. 

When  he  went  in  the  house,  his  cheeks  were 
as  red  as  roses,  and  his  fingers  as  purple  as 
Jack  Frost  could  make  them  with  his  kisses 
and  pinches. 


fHITTIlRSWO! 


